The prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) sitting in Abuja has admitted that some of the exhibits he tendered before the tribunal were not investigated by him or his team.
While under cross-examination by Saraki’s lawyer, Kanu Agabi, SAN, the witness, Micheal Wetkas, an investigator with the EFCC, specifically admitted that he did not investigate the petitions in Exhibits 11, 12 and 13.
The defence had presented the exhibits to him and consequently questioned him on them.
But Wetkas said that the petitions in the three exhibits were not investigated by him.
Exhibit 11 which was dated May 22, 2012 contained a petition written by Kwara Freedom Network inviting the EFCC to investigate the Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board.
The witness had while giving evidence-in-chief told the tribunal that the petition by the Kwara Freedom Network propelled their investigation.
He, however, turned around during cross examination to say that his team did not investigate the petition.
Exhibit 12 which was dated May 7, 2011 was addressed to the EFCC Chairman, asking the anti graft agency to investigate the Kwara State government on borrowings for projects described as phoney.
Exhibit 13, however, was a petition dated June 7, 2012 which was about mismanagement of local government revenue in Kwara State between 2003 and 2011.
When asked whether in the course of investigation, he had audience with the Accountant General of Kwara State, the witness said he did not as that was not part of his assignment.
Also asked whether he invited any official of Kwara State Government in the course of investigation, the witness also said he did not.
Asked whether he got another written document to buttress the petition written by Kwara Freedom Network, the witness said he did not.
When further asked why he tendered documents he did not investigate, the witness said he did not tender the exhibits on his own but were tendered through him by the prosecution.
Also under cross examination, the witness admitted that investigating the assets declaration of the defendant did not form part of his schedule of duty.
He also admitted that exhibits 3, 4 and 5, which were assets declaration forms of the defendant, were duly examined and stamped by the Code of Conduct Bureau.
He added that there was nowhere in the petition they investigated where Saraki’s asset declaration was in contention.
He further added that the investigation of the defendant was based on intelligence report obtained by the former chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Lamorde and not the three petitions tendered as exhibits.
In specific terms, the witness stated that the six assets declaration forms submitted by Saraki to the CCB were never investigated by his team.
He, however, stated that his team was directed to investigate the intelligence report alone.
Meanwhile, the Tribunal dismissed an application by Saraki for a one-week adjournment to enable him study a document tendered by the prosecution against him.
Saraki is standing trial on 13 count charges bordering on false asset declaration and money laundering.
In his ruling, the Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Umar Danladi, held that the application fell short of the requirements of section 396 (3) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015.
Danladi said that the tribunal had been accommodating the defence team by giving it more than five adjournments in the case.
He ordered that the trial must continue daily in line with the provisions of the Law.
” The defence is hereby ordered to come to court tomorrow for continuation of their cross examination of the prosecution witness,” Danladi said.
