Nation
N109bn Fraud: EFCC Deceived Me, Ex-AGF Alleges
The former Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, has accused the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) of deceiving him to admit to the allegations against him.
The ex-AGF claimed that the EFCC told him they wanted to use him to get the Minister of Finance and some other governors.
Idris and his co-defendants are standing trial on 14 charges of stealing and criminal breach of trust to the tune of N109.5 billion.
Idris was arraigned alongside Godfrey Olusegun Akindele and Mohammed Kudu Usman, and a firm — Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange Limited.
In a statement said to be written by Idris and dated May 16, 2022, which was partly read out by the prosecution witness, Hayatudeen Ahmed, in court yesterday the ex-AGF stated that the EFCC promised him that whatever information he gave would not be used against him.
The prosecution witness read the statement after being asked to while being cross-examined by Idris’ counsel, Chris Uche (SAN).
After reading, the prosecution witness stated that such assurances were not given, and neither was he under duress.
He said, “There was no such assurance. The statements made by Idris on the 25th, 26th, and 31st of May 2022 and that made on the 1st, 6th, 10th, 20th of June 2022, and July 5, 2022 were made willingly by the defendants contrary to the claims that they were allegedly made under duress by the defendants.”
The Chief Judge of Katsina State, Justice Musa Danladi, has granted bail to 91 inmates.
He also completely discharged four others during the first-quarter jail delivery exercise for 2025 at the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Katsina.
Speaking at the event yesterday, Justice Danladi explained that the Sub-Committee on Decongestion of Correctional Centres carefully assessed the cases before recommending the inmates for release.
Factors considered included age, length of time spent in custody, and medical conditions.
He further announced that going forward, the personal details and photographs of released inmates would be officially recorded to ensure proper documentation and accountability.
Addressing the freed individuals, he urged them to stay on the right side of the law, emphasising that another chance at clemency might not be available if they reoffend.
The Katsina State Controller of Corrections, CC Umar Baba, praised the initiative, stating that such interventions ease congestion, improve prison conditions, and support rehabilitation efforts.
He also called on judges and magistrates to consider alternative sentencing options to prevent unnecessary detentions and allow correctional facilities to focus on reforming and reintegrating offenders into society.
The Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan has struck out murder charges against Ooni of Ife’s ex-wife, Queen Naomi Silekunola; the owner of Agidigbo FM, Oriyomi Hamzat; and principal of Islamic High School, Abdullahi Fasasi.
The Tide’s source recalls that the trio have been facing murder charges following the December 2024 children’s event stampede that led to the death of 35 children.
Justice B. K. Olawoyin delivering judgment yesterday, ruled that holding the defendants liable could discourage the public from engaging in humanitarian activities.
The court dismissed the four count charge, which included acceleration of death, conspiracy, negligent acts causing harm and failure to provide adequate medical facilities and security.
The Nigerian Military high command has stated that it is unaware of any community in the Northwest negotiating or entering peace agreements with bandits and terrorists for protection.
Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja yesterday, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Markus Kangye, dismissed reports suggesting such peace deals.
He questioned why any community would resort to negotiations, given the sustained military offensives against terrorist groups.
“The military is carrying out its operations in line with established protocols for internal security. If any community claims to be seeking peace with bandits, the military does not support that,” Kangye asserted.
He further emphasised that joint military operations, in collaboration with hybrid forces and other security agencies, have remained relentless in tackling terrorism and organised crime.
Throughout the past week, troops conducted a series of combat patrols, raids, ambushes, clearance operations, and search-and-rescue missions, resulting in significant successes.
According to Kangye, several terrorists were neutralised, their collaborators were captured, and kidnapped victims were successfully rescued.
