From Godwin Tsa Abuja
A former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman has insisted that his written statement allegedly confessing to corruption charges was obtained under duress.
The defendant is standing trial on 12 counts of alleged conspiracy and money laundering involving N33.8 billion meant for the Mambilla Power Project.
The former Minister who voluntarily honoured the EFCC invitation was asked to write his statement before leaving the commission.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was said to have obtained the statement from him preparatory to filing the corruption charges against him last year.
EFCC’s first witness in the trial-within-trial, testified, insisting that Mr Mamman gave the statement voluntarily.
Led in evidence by prosecution counsel Rotimi Oyedepo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr Kwaido said the statement in question was taken on 20 February 2024 and recorded in a general office equipped with audiovisual surveillance, accessible to multiple parties.
He quoted Mamman’s signed authorisation form: “I, Saleh Mamman, have authorised my lawyer, Mohammed Ahmed of Pineal Solicitors, to write on my behalf due to ill health and other health challenges. In support of this, I have submitted a medical report to that effect.”
Abubakar Kwaido, an investigator with the EFCC, said Mr Mamman authorised his lawyer, Mohammed Ahmed of Pineal Solicitors, to write the statement on his behalf due to his ill health at the time.
The prosecution was to tender the confessional statement dated 20 February 2024 through EFCC’s 17th prosecution witness when defence lawyer Femi Atte, a SAN, raised an objection to its admissibility.
The specific confession contained in the statement has yet to be discussed during proceedings.
However, the defence lawyer alleged that his client made the statement involuntarily at EFCC’s office.
In response, the judge said the issue of involuntariness of a statement and other grounds of objections raised by the defence counsel could only be resolved by conducting a trial-within-trial to ascertain their veracity.
Accordingly, justice James Omotosho is conducting a trial-within-trial to determine whether or not, the ex-Minister willingly volunteered his confessional statement to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
During yesterday’s proceedings, the EFCC played back the audio-visual recording capturing the process and condition under which the statement of the defendant was obtained.
The clip showed the defendant looking dull and complaining of his health condition.
Meanwhile during the main trial, the EFCC alleged in the charges that over N26 billion earmarked for the Mambilla Power Project was diverted through Bureau de Change operators.
In his testimony during the main trial, Mr Kwaido had traced multiple transactions through over 10 corporate accounts linked to operators such as Breathable Investment, Fullest Utility Concepts, and Golden Bond Nigeria Ltd.
He told the court that the EFCC received intelligence in 2023 suggesting massive financial diversions. Investigations were carried out in collaboration with commercial banks, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
Meanwhile, further trial has been shifted to May 2, 8 and 9 respectively.