By Innocent Anaba
lagos—A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, yesterday, held that a prosecution witness cannot give opinion evidence in the trial of a former Governor of Abia State, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu.
The trial judge, Justice Mohammed Idris reached the conclusion in his ruling on an objection raised by Kalu’s lawyer, Mr Awa Kalu, SAN, to the evidence of the witness.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, had on October 31, 2016, preferred a 34 count charges bordering on N3.2 billion fraud against Kalu, his former commissioner for Finance, Ude Udeogo and a company, Slok Nig. Ltd.
The accused had pleaded not guilty to the charges.
At the hearing in the matter on Monday, the prosecutor, Mr Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, had led its fourth witness, Mr Romanus Madu, a Permanent Secretary at the Government House of Abia State, in evidence in chief.
He had said that he did not author a statement requesting for the sum of N30.8 million bank draft in the course of his duties as a cashier in the Abia State House in 2005, though he identified his name on the document, but said that he was not the person who wrote it, adding that his signature was not absent.
Following an attempt by the prosecutor to ask the witness to do a comparison of signatures to determine if they were his, the defence objected.
Defence counsel had objected on the grounds that the practice was contrary to the provisions of the Evidence Act.
Defence stressed that the witness cannot be asked to compare signatures of persons he claimed not to have known, adding that it was a reserve for expert opinion.
Ruling on the argument, the trial judge held that the sole question was as to whether a witness can give opinion evidence.
Citing the provisions of sections 67, 68 and 70 of the Evidence Act, the court said that expert opinion of handwriting was an integral part of the law governing evidence.
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