Former Accountant General Claims Assurances of Immunity in N109 Billion Fraud Case

Former Accountant General of the Federation (AG-F), Ahmed Idris, has revealed that he initially believed he would not face prosecution for the alleged N109 billion fraud he is accused of alongside three others.

Idris stated that he cooperated with investigators from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), providing them with necessary information to assist their probe under the assumption that he would not be prosecuted for the Fraud case. These remarks were made in one of the 13 extra-judicial statements he provided to EFCC investigators, which have been presented before a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) where the trial is taking place.

In the statement dated May 25, 2022, Idris emphasized his cooperation with EFCC officials, stating, “Throughout the investigation process, I have cooperated with the EFCC officials and have volunteered information to demonstrate my commitment to make the investigation easier and speedy.”

He further expressed his belief that his cooperation and alignment with statements made by principal suspects would not be used against him in any trial or prosecution. However, he expressed reservations about accepting the net figure of N13.2 billion he was confronted with.

Idris’s lawyer, Chris Uche (SAN), has objected to the admissibility of the statements, alleging that investigators coerced his client into making statements containing admissions of guilt.

The EFCC is prosecuting Idris, along with his former Technical Assistant, Godfrey Olusegun Akindele; a director in the Office of the AG-F, Mohammed Kudu Usman; and Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange Limited (alleged to belong to Idris), on a 14-count charge bordering on stealing and criminal breach of trust(Fraud) involving N109 billion.

During the ongoing trial-within-trial to determine whether Idris offered the statements voluntarily, Uche insisted that investigators assured his client he would not be prosecuted.

However, one of the investigators who interrogated Idris, Mahmoud Tukur, denied Uche’s claim. 

Tukur, who previously served as the Head of Chairman Monitoring Unit (CMU) II of the EFCC, testified as the second prosecution witness on March 20.

 He disputed the claim, stating, “We did not assure him (Idris) of anything. I personally did not make such assurances, and as the head of the unit, I can confidently affirm that.” 

Tukur further clarified that cautionary advice was given to Idris, informing him that any statements he provided might be used as evidence in court. Similarly, another EFCC operative involved in the investigation, Hayatudeen Suleiman, testified as the first prosecution witness in the trial-within-trial and also denied making any assurances to Idris regarding prosecution.