Ex-AGF Ahmed Idris Opens Defence in N109.5bn Fraud Trial

A former Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Ahmed Idris, on Tuesday, opened his defence in the trial-within-trial at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. 

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had arraigned Idris alongside Geoffrey Akindele, Mohammed Usman, and Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange Limited on a 14-count charge, alleging the fraudulent diversion of public funds amounting to N109.5 billion.

While testifying before Justice Yusuf Halilu, Idris disclosed that he had made a total of 16 statements during the EFCC investigation, but the prosecution sought to tender only 13 of them as evidence.

According to him, his first statement was made on January 22, 2022, when he visited the EFCC headquarters to see the then-Chairman of the commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa.

“I was made to write a statement without my lawyer present. I objected, but one Hayatudeen (an EFCC operative) insisted that I must give a statement if I wanted my freedom,” Idris told the court.

He further alleged that his interrogators dictated what he wrote in his statement. “To the best of my knowledge, there was no video recording of what transpired that day,” he added, noting that the statement recording continued until around 2 a.m.

Idris also claimed that he was not released on bail while in custody and that between May 17 and May 21, 2022, he underwent rigorous interrogation sessions.

He alleged that during his detention, he was taken to the EFCC chairman’s office three times, where Bawa reportedly told him that he was not the main target of the investigation.

“He told me that the target was the former Minister of Finance,” Idris said.

Following his testimony, Justice Yusuf Halilu adjourned the trial-within-trial to May 7 for continuation.

NAN

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