Former Chief of Air Staff, Adesola Amosu, on Wednesday objected to EFCC’s tendering of bank documents on a fraud case against him before a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos.8
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had arraigned Amosu along with a former NAF Chief of Accounts and Budgeting, Jacob Adigun, and a former Director of Finance and Budget, Olugbenga Gbadebo.
They are facing a N22.8 billion fraud charges.
At the resumed hearing on Wednesday, EFCC’s lawyer, Mr Rotimi Oyedepo, in continuation of his examination of an investigator, Tosin Owobo, sought to tender some letters before the court.
Owobo said as part of his investigation, he wrote some banks for details of transactions by companies linked to the accused.
The witness said that the banks which responded include Heritage Bank, First City Monument Bank, Guarantee Trust Bank, Skye Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Fidelity, Keystone and Diamond Bank.
Oyedepo then sought to tender one of the letters from FCMB in evidence as exhibit.
But defence counsel Chief Bolaji Ayorinde and Norrisson Quakers (SAN) objected to the application.
Ayorinde argued that since the witness was not the maker of the documents even though he claimed to have come across them in the course of investigation, such documents could not be tendered in evidence.
He further said that the documents were certified by EFCC instead of the banks where they emanated from.
“Only the bank can certify the documents. I therefore urge your Lordship to reject these documents as being inadmissible,” he said.
Quakers said the letters were not public documents but emanated from a private institution and therefore were inadmissible.
“Only the bank can certify the documents: EFCC is not the custodian or originator of the document, so, it is in no position to certify them.
“We urge the court to allow the documents to fly out of the window,” he said.
Counsel to the other accused also aligned themselves with the submissions of Ayorinde and Quakers.
But Oyedepo said the documents were admissible because they formed part of the official act or record.
“The documents were addressed to EFCC. The body that can confirm what EFCC received as part of its official record is the EFCC itself.
“I also submit that the document having been properly certified can even be tendered from the Bar.
“The witness is an investigating officer and can tender the documents he recovered even if he is not the maker,” he said.
On the defence counsel’s submission that EFCC could not certify the documents, being a party to the case, Oyedepo said the commission was not a party.
“The case is between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the defendants. The document is relevant to the proceedings,” he said.
Justice Ibrahim Idris reserved ruling on whether or not to admit the documents as exhibits to Feb. 23. (NAN)