The Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos State, has adjourned until November 21, 2023, further proceedings in the trial of a Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Haruna Baba Jauro , and two others. .
Justice Tijani Ringim, on Monday, October 16, 2023, gave the verdict for the trial of Jauro and two others.
Jauro, along with Dr Dauda Bitrus Bawa and a company, Thlumbau Enterprises Limited, are being charged by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a 19-count charge of embezzlement and money laundering. the sum of N304,118,500 (Three Hundred Four Million, One Hundred Eighteen Thousand Five Hundred Naira).
In Monday’s proceedings, the third prosecution, PW3, Orji Chukwuma, an investigator with the EFCC, told the court that he met the accused who is the head of the Special Task Force 3, EFCC, Lagos.
In his further report, he told the court that “objections to the admissibility of the accused’s statements were brought before the Honorable Justice Mojisola Olatoregun.
“During the trial, my testimony was recorded. I also testified in a trial-within-a-trial and was examined by Olalekan Ojo, SAN,” said Chukwuma.
When asked by the prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), if he remembered that the former accused’s statements were admitted as evidence and marked Q, Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4 at the conclusion of the trial- in the previous trial before Justice Olatoregun, the witness answered in the affirmative.
Oyedepo therefore sought to present the proceedings of the trial-within-a-trial before Justice Olatoregun which was admissible and marked as evidence.
This includes the defendant’s previous statements on January 28, 2016, October 12, 2015, March 17, 2016 and March 24, 2016.
Ojo told the court that he had no objection to the statements being marked as evidence in the trial-within-a-trial given.
Therefore, Justice Ringim agreed and marked the statements presented as Twt1 to Twt5.
When Oyedepo questioned the witness in his response to the former accused’s allegations that his statements were not received comfortably, he said that the environment in which he was brought was very appropriate. the words.
He added that “it was in a large conference hall. It sat around an oval conference. It was a public place and anyone could enter at any time.
“Hands were not brought into the meeting house.
“We met with people, including the people of the accused and my own teams.”
Continuing, Orji said that before taking his statements, the defendant was given instructions.
In order to show his knowledge, his signature and date are placed at the beginning and end of his statements.
The statement by the accused in 2015 was made at the pleasure of his office at NIMASA.
When asked by counsel to review Exhibits T1–T5 and also present the court with instructions, the witness reads all written instructions in the statements to the court.
He also showed the court that the accused had put his name and signature on all the statements that he had agreed to be kept.
The witness added that “at the end of the speech the evidence was given to the trial team. It takes the summary.
“That is the act of placing the consent in the area where the premises are located. The statement was not made under the requirement and it was admitted before Justice Olatoregun.
Justice Ringim adjourned to November 21 and 22, 2023 for continuation of trial.
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