Justice
Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court, Abuja on July 3, 2017 overruled
objections by Osarenkhoe Afe, to the admissibility of his statements made to
the
EFCC, and admitted them in evidence as Exhibits 1 and 1a.
Afe,
managing director of Frederick Hamilton Global Services Limited, is standing
trial along with Stephen Oronsaye, a former Head of Service to the Federation,
for a N2 billion fraud case. They are facing an amended 35-count charge
bordering on “stealing and obtaining money by false pretense”.
Afe had,
through his counsel, Oluwole Aladedoye, objected to the admissibility of the
statements, arguing that they were obtained from his client through
“oppression,” thus necessitating the commencement of a trial-within-trial.
In proving
its case that the statements were made voluntarily by Afe, the prosecution led
by O.A. Atolagbe, called three witnesses – operatives on the EFCC’s Pension
Task Force, who testified that the statements were made by him, and that “he
was not coerced” into making them.
The ruling,
which lasted about an hour, brings to an end the trial-within-trial, which
began on June 21, 2016. The trial judge gave the verdict in his ruling “after
consciously and deliberately weighing the evidence presented to the court by
the prosecution and defense."
According to saharareporters, the
statements are confessional ones made by Afe to the EFCC on February 24, 2011
and March 16, 2011 in the course of investigating five companies – Hamilton
Global Services Limited; Cluster Logistic Limited; Kangolo Dynamic Cleaning
Limited, and Drew Investment & Construction Company Limited – alleged to
have been used to perpetrate the fraud.
“The second
defendant was in a good state of mind, when he made the statements,” the judge
held, noting that if indeed, he was coerced into making the statements as
claimed; he never took any steps, like writing “a letter of protest” and asking
“the court to order the EFCC to produce the statement he was coerced to write”.
The trial
judge further held that “if in the course of proceedings, there are new
developments, which put the statement in great doubt; this court has the power
to expunge it, as it is easier to do that, and I don’t have power to remove
evidence that has already been objected”.
Justice
Kolawole, thereafter, admitted the statements exhibits in the criminal trial,
and adjourned to October 12, 2017 for “continuation of judicial trial of the
defendants”.
Earlier in
the proceedings, the trial judge granted a motion brought by Oronsaye’s
counsel, Barth Ogar, asking the court to release his client’s international
passport, in order for him to travel abroad for medicals.
The trial
judge ruled that: “Ogar must in the next 48 hours file a personal undertaking
that the defendant shall return his passport on or before September 30 for
purposes of his further trial.”
Wilson
Uwujaren
Head, Media
& Publicity
July 3, 2017
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