By Kenneth Atavti
Fourth prosecution witness for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in the trial of former Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State, Abubakar Umar, has informed an Abuja Federal High Court that his earlier evidence for the anti-graft agency before the court were lies he told in other to get relief from pressure put on him by unknown persons.
At the resumed trial of Senator Suswam and his then Commissioner for Finance, Omadachi Okolobia on January 31, 2020, February 3, 2020, February 4, 2020, February 5, 2020, and February 12, 2020, Umar, among other things, admitted to the court that he gave contradictory evidence against the defendants.
Recall that on May 5, 2016, Mr Umar in his evidence before Justice A. R. Mohammed of the same court stated that sometime in the year 2014, he delivered the dollar equivalent of the sum of N3.1 billion in cash to officials of the Benue State Government at the Government House in Benue, and he that was not aware if the said sum was handed to Suswam.
The prosecution therefore brought an application before the court on January 31, 2018, to declare Mr. Umar a hostile witness because his evidence before the court amounted to “a summersault,” arguing that the witness had earlier informed the EFCC that he delivered the money in question to Senator Suswam personally at his Maitama residence in Abuja.
After the Justice Mohammed declared Umar a hostile witness, the EFCC witness informed the court on January 31, 2018, that his understanding of Government House was wherever the governor lives and therefore, Senator Suswam’s Abuja private residence was a Government House.
However, following a transfer of the case file from Justice Mohammed to Justice Okon Abang of the same court, Mr. Umar was again called as a prosecution witness but this time, not declared a hostile witness.
On January 4, 2020, Umar under cross-examination by counsel to Suswam, Chinelo Ogbozor, admitted that his evidence before Justice Mohammed was a lie, and insisted that he did not receive money from anybody to lie to the court.
When asked by if he knows the persons who influenced or pressurised him to lie or their phone numbers, the witness answered in the negative.
Again, the witness was asked by Ogbozor if the EFCC or the police investigated his telephone records to identify the callers whom he claimed put him to his lie, the witness answered in the negative.
Further under cross-examination by Ogbozor, Mr. Umar, who had stated in his evidence-in-chief that he converted the vexed sum from naira to dollars within two to three days and handed same to Suswam, recanted and stated that it took him four days to convert the money from naira to dollars.
Umar further recanted from his earlier evidence before Justice Mohammed where he stated that the Government House was wherever the governor lives, stating instead that he said he took the money to the Government House without more.
When Ogbozor asked the witness if he was under administrative bail by the EFCC, Umar answered in the affirmative, stating also that he was granted bail by the anti-graft commission after he recanted his testimony before Justice Mohammed.
He concluded his first cross-examination by admitting that he had told the Court 3 contradicting versions of how he delivered money to Suswam.
At the resumed trial held February 12, 2020, Umar under further cross-examination by Mr. Paul Erokoro (SAN), counsel to the second defendant, admitted that he was not a licensed Bureau De Change, BDC, operator, having not obtained a BDC licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria. He informed the court that though he confessed to operating an illegal BDC business to the EFCC, the commission was yet to charge him to court, instead the EFCC granted him bail after he made statements in its detention and under word of caution.
Mr. Umar further admitted that his evidence before Justice Mohammed was a lie.
When Erokoro (SAN) confronted the witness with his earlier evidence where he stated that he converted the money and took it to the residence of the first defendant in Kubwa, the witness stated that he did not mention that he took the money to Kubwa but to Suswam’s house in Maitama, Abuja.
However, when Erokoro (SAN) asked Umar if the contents of the proceedings before Justice Mohammed was a lie against him, he answered in the negative.
When he was again asked if the EFCC prosecutor was wrong when he made the application before Justice Mohammed to declare him a hostile witness because he was being untruthful, Umar answered in the negative, but insisted that he lied on oath because some faceless persons from the first defendant put him under pressure.
The trial has been adjourned to February 25 and 26, 2020, and March 24 and 26, 2020, for continuation of trial.
