N10bn Fraud Trial: Court rule on voluntariness of statements of Kogi governor’s CoS, co-defendant

The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Friday, fixed 18 March for ruling in the trial-within-trial being conducted in the money laundering case involving Ali Bello, the Chief of Staff (CoS) to Governor Usman Ododo of Kogi State and a co-defendant, Dauda Suleiman.

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The judge, James Omotosho. set the date after the parties’ lawyers made their final submissions and adopted the final written addresses in the trial-within-trial.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Messrs Bello and Suleiman for allegedly laundering about N10 billion in state funds.

The charges relate to the defendant’s activities during former Governor Yahaya Bello’s administration in the state,

Ali Bello, the first defendant in the trial, is a nephew to former Governor Bello.

The trial-within-trial was conducted to ascertain the voluntariness or otherwise of the extra-judicial statements made by the defendants during investigation.

The defendants had objected to the decision by the prosecution to tender the eight statements, claiming that they were put under duress and threatened before making the statements.

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In his final submission, lawyer to Bello, K. C. Wisdom, urged the court to hold that the extra-judicial system of the 1st defendant was not voluntarily obtained

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Mr Wisdom prayed the court to reject the statements in evidence.

Also in his submission, Mr Suleiman’s lawyer, Olusegun Jolaawo, a SAN, urged the court to hold that the statements were made in contravention of Section 15(4) and 17(2) of Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015.

However, EFCC’ lawyer, Abdullahi Mohammed, prayed the court to admit in evidence the six statements made by Bello and the two by Suleiman on the grounds that the statements were made by the defendants voluntarily.

(NAN)