Oronsaye: Defendant signed own statement, witness tells court

Oronsaye: Defendant signed own statement, witness tells court
NAN-H-107
Oronsaye
By Wandoo Sombo
Abuja, Feb. 16, 2017 (NAN) The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Thursday adjourned till March 29, trial-within-trial in the fraud case filed against Mr Stephen Oronsaye, former Head of Civil Service of the Federation.
At the resumed hearing, Mr Mustapha Gadanya, a prosecution witness, told the court during cross examination, that Mr Osarenkhoe Afe, the second defendant, willing wrote and signed the statement he made to the EFCC.
“Before his statement on March 16, 2011, I interviewed him about the amount received by his company and what he did with it.
“After I interviewed him, I asked if he was willing to reduce it in writing and he said yes. He wrote his statement himself and signed it.”
Gadanya who was cross-examined by Afe’s counsel, Mr Oluwale Aladedoye, told the court that although suspects invited to the commission had to deposit their phones at the gate, it was not always the case.
The witness also told the court that there is a register where suspects invited to the commission were required to sign on each visit, adding that it was however, a flexible arrangement.
Earlier, while Gadanya was being led in evidence by the prosecuting counsel, Mr Oluwaleke Atolagbe, he told the court that he worked for the commission from July 2005 to September, 2014.
The witness who said that while at the commission, he was the second in command at the pension fraud unit, added that he currently works with a bank.
An attempt by Mr Okeaya Ineh (SAN), counsel to Oronsaye, the first defendant in the matter to further cross-examine the witness was objected to by Atolagbe.
Atolagbe objected on the ground that allowing Ineh to cross-examine the witness would involve going into the contents of the statement, which the court had earlier ruled was not the reason for the trial-within-trial.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the court had on Nov. 8, 2016, ordered the prosecution to focus on how the witness’s statement was obtained, not its content.
The ruling followed an objection raised by Aladedoye, during cross-examination by Atolagbe regarding the line of questioning.
Trial judge, Justice Gabriel Kolawale adjourned the matter till March 29 for the defence to call its witness.
Kolawale had ordered a trial-within-trial to ascertain the veracity of the claim by Afe, that his statement was obtained by the EFCC under duress.
The first prosecution witness, Miss Roukayya Ibrahim, an operative of EFCC, however, told the court on June 21, 2016 that the statement written by Afe on Feb. 24, 2011 was obtained from him without duress or oppression.
Oronsaye and Afe are standing trial for money laundering, fraud and breach of trust.
They are being tried with four companies – Fredrick Hamilton Global Services Limited, Cluster Logistic Limited, Kangolo Dynamic Cleaning Limited, and Drew Investment and Construction Company Limited. (NAN)
WS/OU/OU
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Edited by Obike Ukoh
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