N109.4bn fraud: Indicted Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, seeks plea bargain

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Former Accountant-General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, accused of siphoning N109.4 billion of public funds, wants a plea bargain.

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This was disclosed by the Counsel to the EFCC in Idris’s case, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), on Wednesday in Abuja.

Jacobs spoke at the resumed proceedings on a 14-count money laundering charge the anti-graft agency entered against Idris and three others before an Abuja High Court sitting at Maitama.

The other defendants are an aide to the former AGF, Olusegun Akindele; a Director of the Federation Account, Mohammed Usman; as well as a company, Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange Limited, thatallegedly served as the conduit pipe through which bulk of the stolen funds was diverted.

Jacobs said: “My lord, the defendants sent a third party to me that they wanted a plea bargain meeting and that they wanted to meet me.

“But my reply to them was that I could not meet them in the absence of their lawyers.

“By the nature of our calling, we must be open and transparent.

“Since section 270 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act encourages settlement and plea bargaining.

“I told them to come with their lawyers and that I would also invite the investigators to come for the meeting.

“One of the lawyers in the team of the 1st defendant, Mr. Kanayo Okafor, came to my office at the EFCC and protested that they were not carried along and that his client would not come for the meeting.

“I later spoke with the senior counsel, Uche, SAN, for more than 30 minutes over the matter and he protested that we did not invite them.

“It was at that point that I decided to call the meeting off, even though the senior lawyer eventually pleaded that it should go on.

“I called it off because in the first place, the meeting was at their instance.

“So, none of the defendants entered the EFCC premises or came for the meeting.”

Idris’s counsel, Goddy Uche (SAN), insisted that his client and his co-defendants were at the EFCC office for the meeting, but declined to go further with the negotiation after they were asked to go to the office of the EFCC Chairman.

Uche had before the EFCC lawyer revealed that the defendant sought a plea bargain, alleged that the defendants were summoned by the anti-graft agency, a development he said made it impossible for him to discuss the issue of purported confessional statements the prosecution intended to tender in evidence before the court, with his client.

He said: “My lord, I could not interview my client on Monday as slated because he was at the EFCC but surprisingly, his lawyers were not carried along.

“We had thought that one of the prerequisite for charging a matter in court is that the prosecution has concluded its investigations.

“We find it contemptuous that a matter already before the court could be tried in the office of the EFCC chairman.

“That is not good practice.

“We were deprived of the opportunity to meet our client to be able to properly prepare for his defence.”

Justice Adeyemi Ajayi subsequently adjourned further proceedings in the matter till October 4.