Alleged N109.5bn Fraud: Court adjourns trial-within-trial in ex-AGF Idris case to October

Justice Yusuf Halilu of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court, Maitama, Abuja, on Wednesday adjourned proceedings in the trial-within-trial involving former Accountant-General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, to October 13, 2026, for the adoption of final written addresses.

Mr Idris is facing prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, alongside Geoffrey Olusegun Akindele, Mohammed Kudu Usman and Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange Limited over an alleged N109.5 billion fraud.

The anti-graft agency had arraigned the defendants on a 14-count charge bordering on stealing and fraudulent diversion of public funds.

The trial-within-trial was ordered by the court on November 22, 2022, following an application by counsel to Idris, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), who challenged the admissibility of statements allegedly made by his client to EFCC investigators.

The defence had argued that the statements were not voluntarily made, alleging that they were obtained through deception and inducement.

At Wednesday’s proceedings, Uche informed the court that the matter was scheduled for continuation of the trial-within-trial and presented a defence witness, Hajiya Safiya Idris.

Testifying before the court, Safiya Idris, who resides in Efab Estate, Guzape, Abuja, said she had known the former Accountant-General for many years and regarded him as a father figure.

She recounted visiting the EFCC headquarters in Abuja on June 6, 2022, in an attempt to see Idris while he was in the custody of the commission.

According to her, she was initially informed that the defendant was not in the detention facility but was inside the main office complex.

“I was told he wasn’t in the cell but in the main building. I went there to see if I would be able to see him, but I wasn’t allowed. We waited for a long time before I was eventually allowed to enter the office that he was in,” she told the court.

The witness stated that after she was granted access to the office, two EFCC officers identified as Hayatu and Mahmud requested that she sign as a witness to a statement being written by Idris.

When shown the statement during proceedings, she confirmed that both the handwriting and signature on the document were hers.

Safiya told the court that she signed the statement after being assured that Idris would be released.

Under cross-examination by prosecution counsel, A.O. Atolagbe, the witness admitted that she was neither invited by the EFCC nor under investigation and had gone to the commission’s headquarters on her own initiative.

She further stated that the defendant had already completed the statement before she was invited into the office and that she only appended her signature after the statement had been concluded.

The witness also confirmed that Idris was unaware of her presence at the EFCC until she was invited into the office to sign the document.

The prosecution drew her attention to a portion of the June 6, 2022 statement which read: “In addition to my last statement, I wish to state that I am writing this statement in the presence of Hajiya Idris Safiya.”

Asked whether the statement had been written before she entered the room, Safiya said she could not determine at what stage the particular sentence was inserted.

She equally confirmed that her name did not appear on any other statements allegedly made by the defendant because she was not present when they were recorded.

Responding to further questions, the witness admitted that she did not file any complaint after signing the statement despite her reservations and acknowledged that she was under no obligation to write anything for the EFCC since she was not being investigated.

However, she maintained that she was truthful when she wrote that the statement was taken in her presence.

Following the conclusion of her testimony and the absence of further questions from the prosecution, the witness was discharged.

Defence counsel subsequently informed the court that the defence had closed its case in the trial-within-trial.

Justice Halilu thereafter adjourned the matter until October 13, 2026, for the adoption of final written addresses, after which the court is expected to determine the admissibility of the disputed statements.

The ruling is considered a crucial step in the ongoing trial, as it will determine whether the statements challenged by the defence can be admitted as evidence in the substantive N109.5 billion fraud case against the former Accountant-General and his co-defendants.