Evidence tampering: Judge withdraws from ex-Gov Bello nephew’s N10bn fraud case
Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja has recused himself from the N10.2 billion money laundering case involving Ali Bello, nephew of former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, following concerns over alleged tampering with a key piece of evidence in the trial.
Bello is facing a 10 count charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alongside his alleged accomplice, Dauda Sulaiman.
Justice Omotosho had on February 5 ordered the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Police Force to investigate allegations that a court registrar, Nasiru Onimisi Zubairu, allegedly colluded with Sulaiman to tamper with exhibits already admitted in evidence.
The exhibits, marked N and O, were said to contain WhatsApp conversations extracted from a mobile phone tendered before the court. The court had directed the security agencies to investigate the alleged alteration or deletion of information contained in the exhibits.
The EFCC subsequently closed its case on June 2 after calling 17 witnesses. The defendants then applied to file a no case submission, arguing that the evidence presented by the prosecution did not establish a prima facie case requiring them to enter a defence.
The matter was scheduled for Thursday for the defendants to adopt their no case submission. However, Justice Omotosho announced his decision to withdraw from the case, citing the unresolved issue surrounding the alleged tampering of evidence.
The judge noted that the security agencies had yet to submit their investigative report about seven months after the issue came to light.
Justice Omotosho described the affected evidence as vital to the case, noting that the court would have to rely on it in determining whether the defendants had a case to answer.
He said any decision he reached on the matter could give rise to allegations of bias, particularly because of the unresolved issue surrounding the evidence.
The judge therefore held that it was in the interest of justice for him to recuse himself and return the case file to the Chief Judge for reassignment.
The development followed an earlier revelation in court that the registrar had allegedly confessed to Justice Omotosho that Sulaiman approached him to delete WhatsApp messages from the defendant’s mobile phone, which had already been admitted as evidence.
The judge subsequently played the registrar’s recorded confession in open court and summoned Zubairu to explain what had transpired.
Zubairu told the court that Sulaiman approached him and allegedly asked him to delete some WhatsApp messages from the exhibits, promising to provide him with accommodation in return.
The court also heard from EFCC Investigation Officer, Muhammed Audu Abubakar, who examined the exhibits and confirmed that some messages contained in the phone had been deleted.
Abubakar identified gaps in WhatsApp conversations covering various dates between 2020 and 2022, including messages involving individuals connected to the allegations being investigated.
Among the messages the witness said were missing were conversations containing references to alleged payments of N100 million, N60 million, N30 million, N50 million and other sums.
The witness also confirmed that some messages referring to the movement of money to Abuja and other transactions were no longer available on the phone, despite appearing in earlier extracts tendered before the court.
Following the testimony, EFCC counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, called for a thorough investigation into the alleged tampering.
Oyedepo also asked the court to revoke Sulaiman’s bail and order a forensic examination of Exhibit N, describing the alleged alteration of the evidence as a matter requiring urgent attention.
The defence lawyers expressed shock over the development and urged the court to await the outcome of any forensic investigation into the matter.
In the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/550/2022, the EFCC alleged that Bello and Sulaiman fraudulently withdrew N10,270,556,800 from the Kogi State treasury and delivered the funds to a Bureau de Change operator, Rabiu Tafada, in Abuja for safekeeping or conversion into foreign currencies for personal benefit.
The defendants have denied the allegations, while the case is expected to be reassigned following Justice Omotosho’s recusal.