After about 12 months of denial, a Federal High Court in Abuja Monday out a lie to claim by the Managing Director of Federick Hamilton Global Services Limited, Osarenkhoe Afe that he was compelled to make confessional statements to investigators with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Justice Gabriel Kolawole, in a ruling Monday on a trial-within-trial conducted from June 21, 2016, held among others that Afe voluntarily made the statements, and proceeded to admit them in evidence.
Afe is being tried with a former Head of Service to the Federation (HOSF), Steve Oronsaye on an amended 35-count charge in which they are accused of “stealing and obtaining money by false pretence” about N2billion.
Shortly after their arraignment last year, Afe, through his lawyer Oluwole Aladedoye, objected to the admission, in evidence, Afe’s the statements, arguing that they were obtained from his client by “oppression”, a development that necessitated the conduct of the trial-within-trial, which began on June 21, 2016.
The statements are confessional ones made by Afe to the EFCC on February 24, 2011 and March 16, 2011 in the course of investigating five companies – Hamilton Global Services Limited; Cluster Logistic Limited; Kangolo Dynamic Cleaning Limited, and Drew Investment & Construction Company Limited – alleged to have been used to perpetrate the fraud.
Prosecuting lawyer, Oluwaleke Atolagbe called three witnesses to prove that Afe made the statements to EFCC’s investigators voluntarily.
The witnesses, who were operatives on the EFCC’s Pension Task Force, testified to the effect that Afe made the confessional statements, and that “he was not coerced” into making them.
Ruling yesterday, Justice Kolawole said: “The second defendant (Afe) was in a good state of mind when he made the statements.”
The judge said if indeed, he was coerced into making the statements as claimed, he never took any steps, like writing “a letter of protest” and asking “the court to order the EFCC to produce the statement he was coerced to write.
“If in the course of proceedings, there are new developments, which put the statement in great doubt; this court has the power to expunge it, as it is easier to do that, and I don’t have power to remove evidence that has already been objected,” the judge said.
Justice Kolawole proceeded to admit the statements as exhibits in the case
Earlier, the judge granted a motion brought by Oronsaye’s lawyer, Barth Ogar, praying the court to release his client’s international passport to enable him travel abroad for medicals.
In granting the motion, the judge ordered Ogar to, in the next 48 hours, file a personal undertaking that the defendant shall return his passport on or before September 30 for purposes of his further trial.
Justice Kolawole adjourned to October 12, 2017 for the “continuation of judicial trial of the defendants”.
The EFCC, on May 18, 2016 re-arraigned Oronsaye and Afe before Justice Kolawole on the amended 35-count charge. Oronsaye, Afe, his company and other firms – Fedrick Hamilton Global Services Limited, Cluster Logistic Limitd, Kangolo Dynamic Cleaning Limited, and Drew Investment & Construction Company Limited – are named as defendants in the charge dated November 2, 2015’
Count one of the charges reads: “That you Stephen Oronsaye, Abdulrasheed Abdullahi Maina (now at large) Osarenkhoe Afe and Fredrick Hamilton Global Services Limited on or about 2nd July, 2010 in Abuja, collaborated in disguising genuine nature of the sum of N161,472,000 derived from an illegal act to wit: conducting procurement fraud by means of fraudulent and corrupt act on the contract extension of biometric enrolment purportedly awarded to Innovative Solutions Limited by the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation without following due process and you thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 14 (1) (b) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004.”
Another count reads: “That you Stephen Oronsaye and Abdulrasheed Abdullahi Maina (now at large) between April and May 2010 in Abuja, collaborated in disguising genuine nature an aggregate sum of N131,038,425 derived from an illegal act to wit; conducting procurement fraud by means of fraudulent and corrupt act on the contract of biometric enrolment purportedly awarded to Moshfad Enterprises by the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation without following due process and you thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 14 (1) (b) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004.”
The case was first taken before Justice Kolawole on July 13, 2015, where a 25-count charge was filed against Oronsaye and others, to which along with his co-defendants they pleaded not guilty. Before trial could commence before Justice Kolawole, the court’s Chief Judge, Justice Ibrahim Auta reassigned the case file to another judge, Justice John Tsoho.
On March 1, 2016 when proceedings were to commence before Justice Tsoho, the judge stunned all when he said: “It has been realized that the case came to me in error, and I’ve been instructed that it should be returned to my brother judge, Justice Kolawole, who started it. He should continue where he stopped. I wish you the best of luck.”
When parties returned to his court, Justice Kolawole said: “the Chief Judge wanted to redistribute cases to new judges transferred to the Federal High Court, Abuja in order to decongest the court, but this case file of Oronsaye was taken in error to Justice Tsoho. This explanation becomes necessary so the public will not be wondering why such back and forth movement.”
