Justice F. Giwa Ogunbanjo of Federal High Court sitting in
Abuja on Monday, January 22, 2024 admitted a fresh exhibit against
Emmanuella Eteta Ita, Head of Stakeholders Unit of the Federal Inland Revenue
Services, FIRS and Surestart School Ltd in a trial within trial to determine
the admissibility of her statement with the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC.
Ita and Surestart School Ltd are standing trial on
25-count charges bordering on criminal misappropriation, diversion, criminal
breach of trust and money laundering to the tune of N2billion.
Ita’s counsel, Paul Erokoro had objected to the admissibility
of the statement of her client before the court, claiming that it was
exacted from her under duress and in the absence of her counsel. This came even
as the defendant reportedly volunteered her statement to EFCC's investigators
in the presence of Eka Didara-Abasi Akpata, a lawyer from Federal Inland
Revenue Service, FIRS, who accompanied her to the EFCC office.
Ruling on the matter on Monday, Justice Ogunbanjo stated that
the defence did not prove beyond reasonable doubt that the statement of the
defendant was not voluntary. Citing Section 15 of the Administration of
Criminal Justice Act, 2015, he further stated that electronic recording of a
defendant’s statement was not mandatory, so also the presence of a defendant’s
counsel. With the ruling, the statement was admitted in evidence and marked
“Exhibit 25.”
Further on the matter, Ijeoma Matilda, an EFCC
operative, led in evidence by prosecuting counsel, Ekele
Iheanacho, concluded her testimony on the matter. According to her,
information provided by System Specs, a Federal government Remittance payment
platform through which funds were allegedly funneled into Surestart School Ltd
between 2017 and 2018, amounted to N173,346,391.50. Surestart School Ltd is the
second defendant, owned by the first defendant.
“We observed that there were transfers to the tune of
N145,218,000 from the account of the first defendant to the second defendant,
Surestart School Ltd. During the reconciliation with the defendant`s account she
could not provide documents to justify the sum of N 158million which is the
total money that came to her account. And in a bid to explain, she brought
copies of receipts she signed which she claimed were receipts for Lomein
Express Ltd. We contacted the owner of Lomein Express Ltd who said that the
receipts did not emanate from them. She also brought letters of reimbursement,
we invited all the companies she mentioned and they all denied that the
receipts were from them while other addresses do not exist,” she said.
While the first defendant also claimed that she resigned as
the director of Surestart School Ltd, the prosecution witness revealed that
documents from the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC established that she was
the owner of the school.
Speaking further, the witness stated that Ita has refunded
about N19.5million so far, which was made at different dates into the EFCC`s
account domiciled with the CBN.
According to the witness, “We requested for her salary
account with Federal Inland Revenue Services, FIRS. In the course of analyzing
the account, we discovered that around 2016, a huge sum of money was moved into
the second defendant`s account and that over N277million had entered into
her salary account apart from her allowances, which were funds for travel
allowance and entertainment expenses.”
Matilda further revealed that the frequency of money paid by
the first defendant into the second defendant’s account increased from February
2016 with every of her salary being transferred to the second defendant’s
account.
Justice Ogunbanjo adjourned the matter to January 23 and 24, 2024.
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