Police pension scam: Absence of defense counsel stalls hearing

The absence of Mr Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), Counsel to the fourth defendant in the trial relating to the police pension scam on Friday forced an Abuja High Court to put off hearing.

The defendants in the case are Esar Dangabar, Atiku Kigo, Ahmed Wada, Veronica Onyegbula, Sani Zira, Uzoma Attang and Christian Madubuke, who were alleged to have been involved in the scam.

They were standing trial for complicity in the over N24 billion scam in the Police Pension Fund.

The case before Justice Hussien Baba-Yusuf was thereafter adjourned due to a written letter by Fagbemi, counsel to the fourth defendant, Veronica Onyegbula asking for an adjournment.

The court did not sit but all counsel in the matter were in court except Fagbemi and the matter was adjourned until June 12 for continuation of hearing in the trial-within-trial.

The fourth defendant, through her lawyer, Fagbemi had told the court that she was forced to make confessional statements to the EFCC.

Fagbemi had called for the trial within trial to prove the veracity of the statements she made to the EFCC.

The prosecution had sought to tender the statements as exhibits before the court and Fagbemi claimed the statements were not made voluntarily.

EFCC operative, Rukayya Ibrahim during cross-examination by Onyegbula’s counsel, told the court that she never promised the defendant anything like implicating her bosses.

She told the court that the commission had enough evidence on her and that they did not need to induce her.

She added that it was because Onyegbula worked with all the directors in her office that was why she was the prime suspect.

“Her bail condition has nothing to do with her level; it has everything to do with her involvement in the scam,” she said.

Ibrahim said that the anti-graft agency never lowered the fourth defendant’s bail condition after she agreed to implicate her bosses in the scam.

The witness told the court that she took most of the statements made by the fourth defendant as the front investigating officer on the scam.

 

 

The post Police pension scam: Absence of defense counsel stalls hearing appeared first on Vanguard News.