Alhaji Sani Dauda, a prosecution witness, on Tuesday, denied giving Senator Shehu Sani bribe.
Dauda made this known in a Federal High Court,Abuja, while being cross-examined in the ongoing trial of Sani over alleged bribery and advanced fee fraud.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) slammed a two-count charge on Sani bordering on name-dropping, influence-peddling and obtaining the sum of $25,000 from Dauda under false pretence.
Dauda, answering questions from the defence counsel, Mr Abdul Ibrahim, SAN, through an interpreter, told the court that he knew that bribery was a crime in Nigeria.
When Ibrahim asked the witness if he gave Sani bribe to give anyone, the witness said that “Sani didn’t tell me that it was for bribe”.
The witness also told the court that the EFCC pressured him into handing over the $25,000 Sani returned to them to serve as exhibit.
The witness told the court that after he reported the matter to the EFCC, Sani returned the amount of $25,000 to him.
He added that nobody saw when he gave Sani the money just as no one was with him when Sani returned the money.
According to the witness, the EFCC asked me to hand over the money to them but I told them that I will not because it is my money.
“They insisted but I told them no but they pressured me saying that it is to be used as exhibit.”
When asked by Ibrahim if the $25,000 was recovered by the EFCC, Dauda told the court that Sani brought the money to his house.
Earlier, led in evidence by the prosecuting counsel, Mr Abba Mohammed, Dauda told the court that Sani had received $10,000 from him to give to Mr Ibrahim Magu, Acting Chairman of EFCC.
“So the total money I gave him (Sani) is $25,000 and since the day he collected the money, I have not seen him. I have been calling him and I couldn’t get him.
” I sent him a text three times and he didn’t answer me so I called one of my friends, Murtala and we went to see the Chief Judge of Nigeria (CJN).
“The CJN said that he didn’t know anything about the matter and that he doesn’t know Shehu Sani.”
Testifying further, the witness told the court that he ran into Magu aboard a flight from Dubai and while discussing, the EFCC boss denied any knowledge of the issue.
He formerly petitioned the anti-graft agency and was asked to record any conversation he had with Sani from then on, which he did.
The witness told the court on Monday, that the former senator asked him to give N1 million each to four judges to ”help” his case just as he asked him to give N1 million to an EFCC prosecutor to help his brother-in-law.
Justice Inyang Ekwo adjourned the matter until July 8 for continuation of trial.
