Some detainees have accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of torturing them emotionally and psychologically. But, the commission has denied the allegations. JOSEPH JIBUEZE recalls two instances of such allegations against the EFCC and its strident denials.
Torturing suspects to extract confessions is one form of rights abuse levelled against security agencies, especially the police. So many detainees have told tales of being tied up and hung on a pole or being hit with iron rods in a bid to force them to confess to crimes. To avoid being killed, some end up admitting to crimes they did not commit.
Those who advocate the abolition of the death penalty point to the fact that most confessional statements tendered in court, and which are usually admitted in evidence, are never made voluntarily. To such advocates, the criminal justice system is so flawed that innocent persons end up in the gulag.
Some criminal cases are bedevilled by denial of statements by defendants. Even with their signatures on the statements, such defendants will insist they were forced to sign. This often leads the court to conduct a trial-within-trial to determine the voluntariness of a statement. The prosecution and the defence call witnesses to testify, after which a judge decides whether to admit the statement or not, before the main trial continues.
To address the problem, the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 has provided for electronic recording of confessional statements. Despite the provision, allegations of forced confessions persist.
Two of such claims were made by persons charged by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with alleged acts of corruption at the Federal High Court in Lagos.
While both suspects did not accuse the EFCC of physical assault of any form, they insisted that operatives of the commission subjected them to emotional and psychological trauma, leaving them with no choice but to write what was dictated to them.
Dudafa’s allegations
A former Senior Special Assistant to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on Domestic Affairs, Dr Waripamo-Owei Dudafa, early this year said he was “tormented” by the EFCC operatives to enable him implicate the former president.
Dudafa said he developed a spinal cord ailment while in detention at the EFCC, adding that he was denied adequate medical treatment.
The former presidential aide said all the statements he wrote were dictated to him, and that he was induced to sign in exchange for his freedom.
Dudafa was testifying in a trial-within-trial which began at the Federal High Court in Lagos after he claimed statements he made at the EFCC were not voluntary.
The EFCC arraigned him and Iwejuo Joseph Nna (alias Taiwo A. Ebenezer and Olugbenga Isaiah) before Justice Mohammed Idris on 23-counts of conspiracy and concealment of crime proceeds.
They were accused of conspiring to conceal proceeds of crime amounting to over N1.6 billion on June 11, 2013. They pleaded not guilty to all the counts.
Dudafa said he was arrested last April 17 on a Sunday and kept in detention till Monday evening without anybody explaining why he was arrested.
He said he was kept in detention until April 27 before he was taken to the EFCC’s office on Awolowo Road for interrogation, where he made four statements, including an asset declaration form, which he described as a “sham”.
Dudafa said he was denied access to his mobile phone from April 27, and his family was stopped from bringing food to him.
“April 27 till May 12 was so tormenting for me. Sometimes, I was taken out from the detention centre and kept in the EFCC office from 8am to 8pm, sometimes till 11pm.
“The ailment is a spinal cord dislocation. It was within that period of torture and agony that my spinal cord got dislocated due to sitting down from morning till night,” he said.
The defendant claimed EFCC denied him access to his lawyers, saying: “I made a request, in fact, my lawyers were driven away.”
Dudafa said he was invited to a meeting in which all the parties in the case were involved. Everyone else, he said, had a lawyer except him.
The EFCC, he said, nominated a lawyer he did not know to represent him. “That was the only statement that was endorsed by a lawyer – a lawyer that was not known to me,” he said.
According to him, the EFCC officials gave him paracetamol and aspirin, and only allowed him to see an in-house doctor when his situation worsened.
The EFCC doctor, he said, referred him to a military hospital where tests revealed that he had a spinal cord injury and needed to see a specialist.
“I was not taken to any specialist. My family even offered to bring an orthopedic physician to attend to me, but they refused. While in the cell, I was isolated. They wanted me to say a lot of things.
“They asked me questions about Goodluck Jonathan. In my statements at the time, I stated that every function I discharged was official because I acted based on instruction. I was dehumanised to the extent that I got scared of people walking past me,” he said.
Dudafa accused the EFCC investigators of trying to break him so that he could do their bidding. He said an investigator, Orji Chukwumau, once asked him: “So, you’re still strong?”
The former presidential aide said the EFCC extended the ill-treatment to his family, freezing his wife’s and children’s schools’ savings accounts “in a bid to frustrate and break me down”.
He said on May 20, Chukwuma took him to the Head of Operations in Lagos, Iliasu Kwabai, who told him that the Federal Government was only interested in recovering stolen money because there was not enough money to fund the budget.
“They told me they only wanted to recover money and that they needed my corporation. My response was ‘no’ though my freedom was paramount to me. Iliasu said I should return money for my freedom.
“The Director of Operation threatened me, saying I would remain in detention forever unless I co-operated. He told me that my freedom was dependent upon the release of the money. My wife and children could not feed. Everything became a yardstick for my freedom. I had no objection to what he was saying.
“Until May 20, my statements were largely dictated to me. My health condition was deteriorating. On May 30, my family raised an alarm telling the whole world that the EFCC refused to treat me,” Dudafa said.
According to Dudafa, the Commission eventually seized an unspecified amount of money from him, yet did not release him as promised.
“On June 1, they went to the bank and the money was released to them, still they refused to let me go. They asked me to bring sureties, and they arrested up to 40 members of my family and friends. For fear of being arrested, all my friends and family deserted me,” Dudafa said.
The defendant said the EFCC officials again told him he was about to be released, and asked him to attest to all the statements he purportedly made. He said when he realised that he did not make the statements voluntarily, he raised objections.
He said a video that was shown in court where he attested to the statements were doctored. According to him, all the points in the video where he raised objections were deliberately blurred or made blank.
“I was saying: Let it be clear that the statement was largely dictated. These statements were teleguided by the EFCC and dictated. I was less than a human being while at the EFCC. I couldn’t even spell my name at some point. I was not physically threatened, but I was mentally threatened,” Dudafa said.
During cross examination by the anti-graft’s prosecutor, Rotimi Oyedepo, Dudafa admitted that he was cautioned before making the statements. He said he was also never forced to admit to committing any crime in the statements.
But he insisted he was asked to sign the statements, saying: “Most of the signatures were done the day I was released.”
Earlier in the trial-within-trial, Chukwuma and an operative Akeem Lasisi, testified that Dudafa made his statement voluntarily.
The duo said they cautioned the suspect before he made his statements, adding that he was not forced to write anything against his will.
The EFCC accused the defendants of concealing the N1.6billion through a company, Seagate Property Development and Investment Ltd, an offence contrary to Section 18(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) (Amendment) Act, 2012 and punishable under Section 17(a).
They were also accused of knowingly concealing proceeds of crime through Avalon Global Property Development Company Ltd in the sum of N 399, 470,000, among others.
Dudafa, between June 1 and June 4 2015, “procured” Nna and Ebiwise Resources to conceal N150million being proceeds of crime.
Other companies allegedly used in laundering the money include Pluto Property and Investment Company Ltd, Rotato Inter Link Services Ltd and De Jakes Fast Food and Restaurant Nigerian Ltd.
Justice Mohammed Idris, ruling in the trial-within-trial, admitted the document in evidence.
He was, however, silent on Dudafa’s claims that he was “tormented” and induced to make the statements.
Justice Idris said: “Are exhibits ID1 and ID2 (the statements) admissible in evidence? Are they confessional? None of the parties have addressed this issue.
“What is a confession? A confession is generally made in writing to a police officer or other law enforcement agents during investigation. It could also be made orally.
“A confession must be direct and positive as far as the charges are concerned. To constitute a confession, a statement must admit or acknowledge that the maker thereof committed the offences for which he is charged and in doing so be clear and unequivocal.”
Court’s verdict
Justice Idris held that the confessional statements did not meet the principle of mens rea (criminal intent).
He said: “Where in Exhibits ID1 and ID2 did the first and second defendants admit the act constituting the offences, as well as requisite intent of mens rea? None has been shown to the court by the counsel, and not has been seen by the court.
“Let me restate for the avoidance of doubt that qualified confession, which for instance, suggests that a defendant is raising a defence, cannot be labeled a confession.
“Strictly speaking, an admission of guilt, but with a defence or an explanation, therefore, cannot amount to a confession.
“It has not been shown that the statements of the first and second defendants tendered by the prosecution amount to an admission of guilt.
“It has not been shown that the said statements were positive, direct and unequivocal as to the commission of the offence for which the defendants were charged.
“I cannot in the circumstances hold that these statements are indeed, confessional statements. In the circumstances, I hold that the statements are admissible at this stage.
“They are admitted and marked as Exhibits G-G15 in respect of the statement of the first defendant, and Exhibit H-H40 in respect of the second defendant.”
Ex-INEC chief’s claims
A former Administrative Secretary at the Kwara State office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mr Christian Nwosu, told the court last Thursday that the EFCC allegedly forced him to surrender his property worth N30million. He said he was also induced to part with N5million to regain his freedom.
According to him, the statements he made at the EFCC were dictated to him while the one he made voluntarily was described as “rubbish”.
Nwosu and Tijani Inda Bashir were accused of receiving N30million bribe from former Petroleum Minister Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke to rig the 2015 general election results.
They were arraigned along with Yisa Adedoyin, who pleaded guilty to receiving cash payment of N70,050,000 from Mrs Alison-Madueke.
Mrs Alison-Madueke is also named in the charge, but is said to be “at large”.
Adedoyin was convicted following a plea bargain with the EFCC in which he agreed to pay a fine of N10million and to forfeit his illicitly-acquired assets.
Nwosu pleaded guilty at first and entered a plea bargain with the EFCC, but Justice Idris rejected the agreement on the basis that it was not severe enough.
in court on the day of his arraignment. The statements were devoid of threat, duress or any promise whatsoever. He was never threatened or promised anything to admit to a crime,” Zakari said.
Justice Mohamed Idris adjourned until November 2 and 15 for continuation of trial within trial.
EFCC: No need to torture suspects
EFCC chairman Ibrahim Magu said the commission has no reason to torture suspects. He said the agency’s functions involve the use of facts and figures, which suspects are asked to explain. He denied that the commission tortures suspects in its detention centres to extract confessions. Magu said suspects who get sick are immediately taken to the commission’s clinic or referred to a hospital.
The EFCC chairman, represented at a briefing in September last year by Deputy Director of Operations, Lagos Zonal Office, Mr illiyasu Kwarbai, said suspects are only detained beyond 48 hours with a court order.
According to him, medical bills incurred by anyone in detention were borne by the commission. Suspects, he said, are fed three times daily, adding that EFCC has an open-door policy.
Kwarbai, who took journalists and civil society leaders on a tour of the commissions Lagos facilities, said despite the resistance of some accused persons, the operatives are professional in their approach.
Among the facilities visited was EFCC’s detention centre on 7, Okotie-Eboh Street, Ikoyi, its clinic, interview rooms and computerised offices.
Each room in the detention facility, with male and female sections, has a mattress, a shower and a toilet. Kwarbai said two suspects are assigned to a room.
There is also a church, named “House of Reconciliation with God”, and a mosque. The clinic has two consulting rooms with two doctors, nurses and a dispensary.
Kwarbai said: “In the course of interviews, some other windows will be opened, which may require further interrogation. In that case we secure court order or remand warrant to enable us keep them.
“Before we put them in detention we serve them with bail conditions which they will sign. They’re immediately admitted to bail pending when they produce reasonable sureties, so that if they’re released we ensure that they come back.
“So, we don’t beat any person here. We don’t extract confessional statements. We investigate financial crimes, not robbery or murder where suspects leave the scene and make up an alibi.
“We don’t need confessional statements to gather facts and figures. We go to the banks and other places and get our facts. There is no need for us to introduce any harsh method of interrogation at all. We don’t do it.”
According to him, some suspects who were used to life of luxury “fall sick” once they are taken to the detention centre. He said a vehicle is stationed at the centre to move any sick person to the clinic, which the EFCC staff also use.
