Alleged N33.8bn Fraud: EFCC presents video evidence to prove voluntariness of ex-minister’s statement

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Thursday presented video evidence to prove the voluntariness of a confessional statement credited to a former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman.

An EFCC witness presented the evidence on Thursday during a trial-within-trial, a sideshow to the main trial in which Mr Mamman faces N33.8 billion money laundering charges.

Last month, trial judge James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the trial-within-trial, pausing the main trial, to verify Mr Mamman’s claim that the statement was obtained from him under duress in February last year.

EFCC opened the trial-within-trial on Tuesday, with its first witness, Abubakar Kwaido, a detective testifying that 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.

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Mr Kwaido said the statement in question was taken on 20 February 2024 and recorded in a general office equipped with audiovisual surveillance.

Mr Kwaido continued his testimony on Thursday.

Led in evidence by EFCC counsel Rotimi Oyedepo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr Kwaido, maintained that Mr Mamman voluntarily gave his statements without coercion or intimidation.

“There was at no point I harassed or intimidated him with detention. My boss was even asking him if he could write, but he said he would ask his lawyer to write on his behalf,” Mr Kwaido told the court.

Video evidence and what ex-minister was captured saying

To substantiate Mr Kwaido’s claim, the prosecution requested the playback of a video clip showing the recording of Mr Mamman’s statement.

A press statement released by the EFCC after Thursday’s proceedings stated that the former minister admitted to an unreported cash transaction involving the purchase of a property in Abuja.

According to the press statement, Mr Mamman disclosed in the video clip that he made three cash payments of N5 million each, totalling N15 million, for a property in Kado, Abuja.

He stated that the payments were made through Abubakar Bida, the project accountant for the Mambilla initiative.

“After the payment, he then gave me the house. That is why I didn’t bring up that issue. Then I accepted the house at Kado,” he said.

Although he had not received official ownership documents for the property, Mr Mamman indicated he considered the transaction complete.

In the same video, he also discussed the joint purchase of another property in Wuse, Abuja, alongside a member of the House of Representatives.

According to Mr Mamman, the house was bought for between N30 million and N35 million, with payments made in instalments.

He said after leaving office, he struggled to obtain the title documents for the property.

However, Mr Mamman accused Mr Bida of dishonesty in managing the property transactions and claimed it was Mr Bida’s personal assistant, Musbahu Idris, who handled the cash transfers.

Despite these allegations, he acknowledged benefitting from the deals.

“Whether I like it or not, I benefitted, because my people have benefited from the money. That was why I was all involved in it,” he stated.

Health challenge

Explaining why he did not personally write the statement, Mr Mamman cited health issues and said he had authorised his lawyer to write on his behalf.

“Honestly, I can’t write. I’m not too strong, but as you can see, I’m about to take my medication. That’s why I spoke to him to write, because I don’t want to stress myself. The doctors warned me not to stress myself. I was advised by my lawyer to come so that it will all be easy,” he said in the video clip.

The trial judge James Omotosho adjourned the matter until 14 April for the continuation of the trial.

Main trial so far

In July last year, the EFCC arraigned Mr Mamman on 12 counts of money laundering, fraud and criminal breach of trust involving N33.8 billion meant for the Ministry of Power’s Mambilla and Zungeru Hydroelectric Power Plant projects.

The prosecution alleged that the former minister converted the money through various private companies.

The charges also alleged that sometime in December 2019, in Abuja, Mr Mamman allegedly used Samson Bitrus to make a cash payment of US$655,700 to Mohiba Investment Ltd (acting through Mohammed Asheik Jidda), without going through a financial institution.

The charges also alleged that over N26 billion earmarked for the Mambilla Power Project was diverted through Bureau de Change operators under his instruction.

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).

“All the statements made by the defendant were taken in the presence of his lawyer on 20 February, 10, 11, 12, 15, 17 May, and 3 and 9 August 2024,” Mr Kwaido said.

The defence, however, contested the admissibility of the statement made on 20 February, insisting it was not voluntarily given.

READ ALSO: Alleged N33bn Fraud: Ex-minister’s confessional statement was voluntary, EFCC’s witness tells court

Earlier, the 15th prosecution witness, Okoafor Nnenna, a deputy manager in the Domestic Payments unit of the CBN, told the court that her unit responded to the EFCC’s request with official documentation of the Ministry of Power’s transactions.

Similarly, the 16th witness, Veronica Sampam, a First Bank compliance officer, confirmed the bank received a letter from the EFCC in October 2024 requesting details on the account of one Idris Musbahu, which they supplied.

Trial-within-trial

On 19 March, trial judge James Omotosho paused the main trial to conduct a trial-within-trial following the defence team’s objection to EFCC’s move to tender a written confessional statement credited to the former minister as an exhibit.

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.

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.