Admin l Tuesday, April 17, 2018
IKEJA, Lagos, Nigeria – A Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja today discharged and acquitted a Senior Civil Servant who stood as surety for a principal suspect and failed to produce the suspect. The civil servant stood as surety for the suspect claiming to know the suspect identified as Uzoamaka he assured the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) of his ability to produce the suspect when needed.
The EFCC had charged him for providing false information to a public officer in the discharge of his duty. But delivering the judgement, Justice Mojisola Dada gave a recap of the whole prroceeding stating that, ‘ the defendant was quoted to have said that ‘ I have seen the charge against him, I know him and stood for surety, the information I gave was not deliberately false.’
‘I was at the bank to ask why my account was blocked and the manager asked me to produce some documents including my work I.D card. While waiting at the bank two hours later, officials of the EFCC came saying I was under arrest. I pleaded that I needed to go home to look after my kids aged 12 and 15 because their mom just died recently.’
‘ I thought they would ask me to go look for the boy as I had forgotten about him since I bailed him in 2014. They didn’t call me and said I was on the run and I said it’s impossible as a civil servant. They didn’t let me go and look for the boy.’
‘The statement I made was out of serious fear for my children because badoo just struck at Ibeshe ikorodu where I stayed thinking they would let me go after the statement. Uzoamaka was like a son to me. He was 22 and a finance student at Ife, I bailed him out of compassion in 2014 because he was a close friend of my son.’
‘I didnt make a false statement to the EFCC as at when I made it but I sincerely do not know where the boy is currently. ‘
The judge further quoted the defense final written address to have said that he made the statement out of anxiety and fear to go back and take care of his under aged children who recently lost their mother and the fact that an EFCC official told him he would be released if he said he did not know the boy.’
Delivering her judgement, Justice Mojisola Dada said, ” the statement made on the 20th of December 2017 and admitted as exhibit C stated that the principal suspect was introduced to him by one barrister Ayeni. The second information was declared by the defendant to be false but the question is, can it be sustained under section 96 a and b of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011? The answer is NO.”
“There is no evidence that the officer did what he ought not to do due to the statement of the defendant as stated in sub section A and there is no evidence that the officer caused any harm to a third party due to the statement of the defendant as stipulated in sub section B.” I find myself unable to convict the defendant and the burden of surety has not been lifted from him and is still under oath to produce the principal suspect. He is hereby discharged of the offence”.
