MAMBILLA: The Agunloye Trial Today
Cross-examination exposes weaknesses of the prosecution as Witness says: “I do not have authority of the Bank”
On Monday, 10 June 2024, the FCT Court under Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie trying the former Minister, Dr Olu Agunloye took its first Prosecution Witness (PW1) who introduced himself as a staff Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank). The PW1 confirmed the Statement of Account of Agunloye that was submitted by EFCC. The Statement of Account covers the period of 1998 to 2022 and contains three entries which according to EFCC were (retroactive) bribes totalling N5 million taken by Agunloye in 2019 for awarding the $6 billion Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project as a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) contract in May 2003. The court adjourned till Tuesday, 11 June 2024, to enable the Defence lawyers to cross examine PW1.
On Tuesday, 11 June 2024, the PW1 crumbled under cross-examination by Agunloye’s lawyer, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. This Witness who claimed that he had worked for nearly two years in the Compliance Section of GTBank admitted that he had no evidence or document to show that he was a staff of GTBank. And to the surprise of the court, PW1 admitted outright, “I have no authorisation from GTBank to represent the bank in court”.
The EFCC Prosecution Witness, PW1 also admitted that there was no link between the account of the Payer, herewith simply labelled as MJS, from which the Defendant Agunloye was paid and Sunrise Power and Transmission Co Limited (Sunrise). PW1 also admitted under cross-examination that there was no evidence or document anywhere in GTBank that could show that Sunrise directed the Payer (MJS) to pay Defendant Agunloye. In addition, PW1 further admitted that the narration of the transfer on the documents presented in court as recorded by GTBank did not say that any of the three transfers was from Sunrise or on behalf of Sunrise. At this stage, the Defence rested its case.
Under cross-examination, the EFCC Prosecution Witness, said to be from GTBank, did much damage to three of the seven EFCC’s Charges against Agunloye. These three Charges (Nos. 5, 6 and 7) had maintained that “Agunloye corruptly received three different sums of money in 2019 totalling N5m through Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) account “from Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited and Leno Adesanya for having conveyed the approval of the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2003 for the construction of the 3,960 Megawatts Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station whilst serving as the Minister of Power and Steel”.
The court asked the EFCC Prosecution Counsel for re-examination, but he politely declined with, “I have nothing to say, my Lord.”
The judge adjourned till Monday, 1 July 2024, for further hearing.
Suleiman Mohammed. Abuja. 11 June 2024
