Alleged Fraud: EFCC fails to produce evidence against senator in court

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has failed to produce evidence against a Nigerian senator, Shehu Sani, in an alleged $25,000 bribery case.

At the resumed hearing of the case on Thursday, the prosecutor, Abba Mohammed, told the court the ‘material evidence’ they relied on to prosecute their case was not ready.

Mr Mohammed said the evidence, particularly cash, was in the custody of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for ‘safekeeping’.

He explained that the anti-graft agency no longer keeps monetary exhibits.

The prosecutor then applied for an adjournment to enable it to retrieve the said evidence.

The presiding judge, Ekwo Iyang, therefore, granted the application and adjourned the matter to October 19, 20, 21 and 22.

Meanwhile one of the defence lawyers, Pelumi Olajemigbesi, who spoke with journalists at the session, said the failure of the commission to produce evidence ”is dangerous to the criminal justice system of the country”.

He added that the commission was not ready for the trial ”but succeeded in wasting the time of the court”.

“It also shows that EFCC is not a serious organisation but a political arm of a few people who believe that they can control things from the corridor of power,” he said.

Mr Olajemigbesi also condemned the commission ”for posting a media report on its (web)site disparaging and denigrating the defendant.”

Meanwhile, the prosecutor earlier alleged that some media reports ”do not reflect the true position of the court proceedings”.

Mr Sani is facing trial for allegedly collecting $25,000 from the proprietor of ASD Motors, Sani Dauda, under the pretext of using the money to bribe the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and the EFCC chairman.