Alleged N109b fraud: Court adjourns ex-AGF Idris case till October

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

Idris is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), alongside Geoffrey Olusegun Akindele, Mohammed Kudu Usman and Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange Limited, on a 14-count charge bordering on the alleged stealing and fraudulent diversion of public funds amounting to N109.5 billion.

The court had ordered a trial-within-trial on November 22, 2022, following an application by counsel to the first defendant, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), who challenged the admissibility of statements made by his client to the EFCC, alleging that they were obtained through deception and inducement.

At the resumed hearing, Uche informed the court that the defence was presenting a witness as part of its case.

The defence called Hajiya Safiya Idris, who told the court that she had a long-standing family relationship with the former Accountant-General and regarded him “like a father.”

Testifying before the court, Safiya recounted visiting the EFCC headquarters in Abuja on June 6, 2022, to see Idris while he was in custody. She said she was initially informed that he was not in the detention facility but in the main building and was later allowed into an office after waiting for some time.

According to her, two EFCC officers identified as Hayatu and Mahmud asked her to sign as a witness to a statement being written by Idris. She confirmed that the signature and handwriting on the document shown to her in court were hers.

Safiya stated that she wrote that the statement was taken in her presence because she had been assured that Idris would be released.

Under cross-examination by prosecution counsel, A.O. Atolagbe, she admitted that she was neither invited nor investigated by the EFCC and had visited the Commission on her own.

She also told the court that Idris had completed the statement before she entered the office and that she signed the document after it had been concluded.

The witness further stated that Idris was unaware of her presence at the EFCC until she was invited into the office to sign the statement.

When confronted with a section of the June 6, 2022, statement which indicated that Idris was writing the statement in her presence, Safiya said she did not know at what stage the statement was written.

She confirmed that her name did not appear on any other statements made by the defendant because she was not present when those statements were taken.

The witness also acknowledged that she did not file any complaint after signing the statement and agreed that she was under no obligation to write anything for the EFCC since she was not under investigation.

However, she maintained that she was truthful when she stated 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.

The defence subsequently 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.

Alleged N109b fraud: Court adjourns ex-AGF Idris case till October