PW4 Ibrahim Shugaba was the I.P.O. who obtained the statements
of the accused person. Exhibits G1, G2 and G3 respectively, the
statements were written by the accused person in his own
handwriting but he insisted that he was tortured before he wrote
those statements. The statements of the accused person were
admitted in evidence after a well-conducted trial-within-trial.
The accused person gave evidence for his own defence as DW1.
He claimed to have office at Wuse Market where he helps
landlord to rent out their shops to prospective tenants and that he
had been doing that for three years before he was arrested by
EFCC; he normally collect agency fees from the tenants. The
accused further stated that two of the nominal complainants
made part-payments and demanded their money back but the
landlord who is in possession of the money told them to wait until
another tenant made payment then that their money would be
refunded.
One of the nominal complainants who made full
payment the landlord told him to exercise patience.
The accused claimed to know PW2 Chimezie Nwachukwu who
paid N400,000.00 for half shop remaining the balance of
N200,000.00 which he never paid the accused claimed that the
N400,000.00 PW2 paid was remitted to the landlord, he further
claimed to make an agreement with PW2 to pay back the money
but PW2 refused and joined others to report the matter to EFCC,
accused blamed his incarceration for not paying back the money
to the nominal complainant.
8