Alleged N450m loot: EFCC suppressing evidence –Belgore

The trial of two chieftains of Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Dele Belgore (SAN) and Professor Abubakar Olanrewaju Sulaiman over the alleged N450million fraud, continued yesterday at a Federal High Court, Lagos, with the former accusing the prosecution of suppressing evidence.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission dragged the duo to court to answer the fraud charges preferred against them. Both Belgore and Sulaiman had earlier urged the court to enter a no-case submission in their favour, but their prayers were turned down by the court which ordered them to enter their defence.
At the resumed trial however, Belgore’s counsel, Mr. L. O. Akangbe, argued that the prosecution was suppressing evidence, as it did not produce all the statements that his client made during investigation. According to Belgore, on 27 January 2017, he made more than one statement, but the prosecution has only produced one of them.
Akangbe argued that it is his client’s constitutional right to have all the statements, to enable him prepare his defence. Akangbe therefore urged the court to compel the EFCC to produce the statements in their complete form, saying the matter is a serious one and should not end there simply because the prosecution says it doesn’t have them.. But the prosecution counsel, Mr. Oyedele, countered, saying they did not have the statements the defendant was referring to.
In a counter response, Belgore’s counsel insisted that the court looks into the matter because it s at the heart of the trial. When called upon, Sulaiman, a former minister of national planning under the Jonathan administration, told the court that his lawyer was not around.
The former minister said he could not readily explain his counsel’s absence. Notwithstanding, the proceedings still went on, but the presiding judge, Justice Rilwan Aikawa, told him to inform his lawyers of the next date of the proceedings. The court adjourned till 23 and 24th May for ruling on the application and possible continuation of hearing.

 

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