A disagreement broke out in court on Tuesday between former Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over a witness summoned to testify in his ongoing N1.35 billion money laundering case.
The EFCC is prosecuting Lamido alongside his sons, Aminu and Mustapha, as well as Aminu Wada Abubakar and two companies over alleged financial crimes.
At the resumed hearing before Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, the defence team requested additional time to speak with an EFCC investigator who had been brought to court under subpoena.
However, EFCC counsel Chile Okoroma opposed the request, arguing that all documents requested by the defence had already been submitted to the court.
Instead of granting an adjournment, the judge suspended proceedings for an hour to allow the defence to meet with the witness.
When the hearing resumed, the witness told the court that he was not part of the team that investigated the case. He said he had only been instructed to search for documents listed in the subpoena.
Following the testimony, defence counsel Joe Agi argued that the witness could not provide useful evidence as he had no direct knowledge of the case. He urged the EFCC to produce a more relevant witness.
The prosecution disagreed, maintaining that the EFCC is a corporate body and that any qualified staff member could represent the agency. Okoroma also maintained that the defence had already received all the documents it requested.
Justice Ojukwu advised the defence that if it wished to obtain testimony from a specific witness who had earlier appeared in court, it should formally apply for that witness to be recalled. She noted that subpoenas are generally used when a witness refuses to appear voluntarily.
The court admitted the subpoenaed documents as evidence and adjourned the case until June 4 for continuation of the trial.
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