A State High Court sitting in Jos, the Plateau State Capital on Wednesday ordered a trial-within-trial to ascertain whether the statements, which the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related offences Commission (ICPC) obtained from a former cashier of the Plateau State Government House, Yusuf Pam, facing over N6 billion charges were voluntarily given or done under duress.
The order was given by Justice Daniel Longji, in his ruling following the disclosure that ICPC operatives pressured Pam to make written statements during investigation.
Pam is standing trial at the State High Court alongside the former Governor of the State and Senator representing Plateau North, Jonah Jang, in a 12-count charge brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) which bordered on alleged corruption and misappropriation of the state fund.
The EFCC had alleged that Jang, who served as Governor of the state between 2007 and 2015, misappropriated over N6 billion two months to the end of his tenure in 2015.
Both of the aforementioned defendants had since pleaded not guilty to the charges.
When the case came up for hearing on Wednesday, Counsel to the prosecutor, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), had called the 8th witness, Taiwo Olorunwoni, an investigator with the ICPC, who testified before the court that N2 billion belonging to the Plateau State Small and Medium Scale Enterprise (SMSE) Agency and another N3 billion of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) were withdrawn by the cashier and taken to the former Governor.
Jacobs had sought to tender the written statement of Mr. Pam as evidence in court, but his move was objected to by the defence Counsel, Mike Ozekheme (SAN), who argued that the statements were not voluntarily obtained as confirmed by Pam who told the court that he was pressured by the ICPC operatives to make the written statement
After arguments and counter arguments by the prosecution and the defence counsels, both agreed for the court to proceed on trial within trial on the matter to ascertain if the statements were voluntarily obtained by the commission or not.
Meantime, the presiding judge, Justice Longji has adjourned the matter for a trial-within-trial to the 25 and 26 of April, 2019.
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