Mrs Veronica Onyegbula, a defendant in the N14 billion Police Pension scam, on Wednesday, closed her case at the FCT High Court, Maitama, in the trial-within–trial, to ascertain the voluntariness of her statement to EFCC.
Onyegbula is the fourth defendant in the case filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against her and six others.
Others are Esar Dangabar, Atiku Kigo, Ahmed Wada, Sani Zira, Uzoma Attang, and Christian Madubuike.
EFCC alleged that they were responsible for the disappearance of N14 billion Police Pension fund.
Onyegbula’s counsel, Mr Ernest Ikeji, had earlier informed the court that EFCC forced his client to make the statements which the anti-graft agency wanted to tender and prayed for trial-within-trial.
Onyegbula, cross examined by Mr Rotimi Jacobs (SAN ), the prosecuting counsel, told the court that she made 10 statements to the EFCC and that five of them were not made voluntarily.
She further told the court that she made the statements in the recording room of EFCC in the presence of Mustapha Gandaya and Aliyu Habibu.
“They were dictating what to write on the first day; they told me to write my personal information and I did; they said I should write everything about myself.”
She told the court that all the five contentious statements were dictated to her and that the EFCC had asked her to cooperate so that they would call her as a witness to testify against her directors.
She added that the EFCC officers dictated to her to write that she stole N14 billion with her directors and that she refused to write it, but rather told them that she never saw such money.
Onyegbula said that the EFCC had promised that if she cooperated, her name would be dropped from the allegations.
She said that after she was released on bail, she made five additional statements.
The Judge, Justice Hussein Baba-Yusuf, after listening to her testimony, adjourned the matter until Oct. 9 for the adoption of written addresses. (NAN)
