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N6.5b aviation scam:Court admits EFCC evidence against Borisade
Newsdiaryonline
Tue March 1,2011
A High Court of
the Federal Capital Territory
, presided over by Justice Abubakar
Sadiq Umar, on Tuesday, March 1st , 2011, ruled that
the confession of Mr. T. A. Dairo, Personal Assistant to a
former Minister of Aviation,
Professor Babalola Borishade, on July 25th , 2008,
was made voluntarily; hence admissible in court. The judge also
ruled that all the authorities cited during trial within trial
by a counsel to a former Managing
Director of the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency to
Rowland Iyayi, are inapplicable and should therefore be
discountenanced.
Borishade
and Iyayi are being prosecuted by the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, alongside
two others for allegedly taking bribes and forging documents
relating to a N6.5billion aviation contract awarded by them.
The other two accused persons are Mr. George Eder, Managing
Director and Chief Executive Officer
of Avsatel Communications Limited and Avsatel Communications
Limited.
It
would be recalled that the court had on June 9, 2010, ordered a
trial within trial to determine vel non the voluntariness
and admissibility of the statement of T. A Dairo made on July 25th
, 2008 based on the objections of the defence counsel on the
admissibility of same. In a seven-page document dated January 25th
, 2011 and titled: “Written address of the prosecution to the
court, urging admissibility of the statement made by the 3rd
accused person on July 25th , 2008 and in response to
written address of counsel to 2nd accused person”, EFCC
counsel, Sebastine Hon, had urged the court to “adopt our
review of the evidence, preliminary objection and issue for
determination in our exhaustive and comprehensive written
addresses to counsels to 1st and 3rd accused persons
respectively as our submissions in response to the written
address of counsel to the 2nd accused person.
Hon
added that counsel to Iyayi, Barrister Chidi Ezenwafor, seemed
to misconceive the real issue for the trial within trial which
is whether or not the statement made by Dairo on July 25, 2008
was voluntarily made. Ricky Tarfa, SAN, counsel to 4th and 5th
accused persons, had also argued that the statements from the
accused persons were taken under duress and therefore not
admissible in court. The other defence counsel aligned with
Tarfa. But in his ruling, the judge said that the prosecution
has proven beyond reasonable doubt
that the statements were not taken under duress, but
voluntarily; hence admissible in court. The judge, after
ruling on the admissibility of the EFCC’s evidence, adjourned
the case till March 28th , 2011, for continuation of
hearing.
The EFCC had filed a 15-
count amended charge against the accused on November 19, 2009.
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