A retired detective with the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Dickson Graymond, on Tuesday told an Ikeja High
Court that a clergyman Nsikakabasi Akpan-Jacobs had confessed voluntarily to
defrauding the wife of former Vice-President Abubakar Atiku, Titi of N918
million.
Graymond disclosed this at the resumed trial of a
14-count charge bordering on conspiracy, stealing and fraudulent conversion of
property worth N918 million belonging to THA Shipping Maritime Services Limited
preferred against Akpan-Jacobs and others by the EFCC.
The EFCC had charged Akpan-Jacobs, Abdulmalik
Ibrahim, a lawyer; and Dana Motors Limited with a 14-count charge bordering on
conspiracy, stealing and fraudulent conversion of property worth N918 million
belonging to THA Shipping Maritime Services Limited.
THA Shipping, a company created in 2000, is owned
by Titi Atiku; Akpan-Jacobs, and Fred Holmes, her German business partner.
According to the EFCC, welding a fraudulent shareholding
power, Akpan-Jacobs also sold a property belonging to the company to Dana
Motors Nigeria Limited for N918 million.
At yesterday's proceedings, the witness, who was
led in evidence by EFCC counsel, Mr. Babatunde Sonoiki, during a
trial-within-trial investigating the voluntariness of Akpan-Jacob's alleged
confessional statement to the anti-graft agency, said: “There are so many
things that he confided in me that he refused to put into writing.
“He admitted to me that Florence Doregos was Titi
Atiku but he refused to put that into writing.
“He confided to me that he wanted to contest in the
Akwa-Ibom State elections and that as soon as he begs Mrs. Atiku, the matter
will be over.
“All what he told me were not forced, I did not
even force him to write all what he confided in me in his confessional
statement. All what he said in his statement was of his own free will.”
During his cross-examination by Mr. Amos Ibe,
Akpan-Jacob's defence counsel, the retired detective denied illegally detaining
the cleric in EFCC custody for three weeks and denying him access to legal
representation.
“The first defendant (Akpan-Jacobs) was served with
bail conditions by the EFCC but he could not provide sureties and we could not
grant him bail on self recognisance because of the gravity of the case against
him.
“He did not spend three weeks with us but six days
and he was given the opportunity to produce a lawyer but he refused saying he
will write his statement on his own.
“Dapo and Chima (EFCC operatives) did not force him
to write any undertaking,” he said.
Graymond also denied bringing Akpan-Jacobs to the
Abuja office of the EFCC on the influence of Titi Atiku.
Earlier during proceedings, Ibe had objected to the
tendering of statements Akpan-Jacobs had made at the EFCC offices dated February.
6, 12, and 13, 2009, March 4 and 5, 2009 and April 2, 2009, on the grounds that
they were not given voluntarily.
Following Ibe's objection, Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye
in a ruling ordered that a trial-within-trial should commence.
Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye adjourned the case till
October 25 for the continuation of the trial-within-trial.
No comments:
Post a Comment