Chigozie Ikpo, Abuja

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Wednesday, fixed rulling on a “no case submission” by Mr Aliyu Abubakar, a co-defendant in the alleged money laundering trial of the former Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke.

Justice Inyang Ekwo adjourned the matter for rulling after the adoption of the final written addresses of parties in the tria-within-trial  between the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the defendants in the suit.

In Wednesday’s proceedings Abubakar’s counsel, Wole Olanipekun, SAN, told the court that the 2nd defendant (Abubakar) has no case to answer.

Olanipekun, said that the extra-judicial statements obtained from his client by the officers of the anti-graft agency, including former prosecuting lawyer, Mr Bala Sanga, during investigation were not made voluntarily.

He said that the anti-graft agency admitted in their application they filed that Sanga, was not only present during the extraction of the statements, but also induced Abubakar to implicate Adoke and others.

“The prosecuting counsel has said it, Bala Sanga was there, he was the investigator and prosecutor at the same time.

“He was the one who was inducing the 2nd defendant (Abubakar). He was the one saying robe this man in, and we will let you go” he said.

Olanipukun insisted that his client was coerced to make the statements, and therefore, prayed the court to dismiss the EFCC’s argument and uphold Abubakar’s no-case submission.

Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN, who appeared for Adoke (1st defendant), also aligned with Olanipekun’s submission.

Counsel to EFCC, Offem Uket, asked the court to discountenance the statement of the Senior lawyer.

Uket told the court that Abubakar was neither induced nor forced to make the statements and urged the court to dismiss the no-case submission.

He said that during the trial-within-trial, it was revealed that Abubakar’s lawyer was always present when the statements were taken.

Justice Ekwo adjourned the matter until Dec. 12 for ruling on the no-case submission.

Background Story

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Abubakar, while being led in evidence as defence witness in the trial-within-trial on July 19, told the court that Sanga, an EFCC officer threatened him to indict former President Goodluck Jonathan in alleged money laundering suit.

He also alleged that the officer threatened him to indict the ex-minister and former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Adoke.

NAN reports that Adoke was the Minister of Justice during President Jonathan’s administration between April 6, 2010 and April 29, 2015.

NAN also reports that Aminu Lawal, the second prosecution witness in the trial-within-trial, had, on May 10, said that Abubakar was neither enforced to make statements nor induced to implicate others in the course of the investigation, and that he was never threatened to be detained.

Lawal was part of the investigators who took the defendant’s statements on Dec. 31, 2019 and on Jan. 6, 2020.

But Abubakar, a business mogul, told the judge that the extra-judicial statements he made on Dec. 31, 2019 and on Jan. 6, 2020 were not made voluntarily.

He said on Dec. 31, 2019 when he was invited to the EFCC’s office, Sanga, threatened to detain him if he refused to make extra-judicial statement.

Besides, Abubakar said on Jan. 6, 2022, Sanga, who introduced himself as the new prosecutor in the matter, told him that there was an evidence before him (Sanga) which showed that he (Abubakar) gave the sum of 20 million dollars to Adoke.

Abubakar also told the court that Sanga informed him that there was another evidence which indicated that he (Abubakar) gave the sum of 50 million dollars to ex-President Jonathan.