Former Administrative Secretary at the Kwara State office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mr. Christian Nwosu, told the Federal High Court in Lagos on Thursday that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) allegedly forced him to surrender his property worth N30million.
Nwosu said he was also induced to part with N5million in a bid to regain his freedom.
According to him, the statements he made at EFCC were dictated to him while the one he made voluntarily was described as “rubbish.”
Nwosu and Tijani Inda Bashir were accused of receiving N30million bribe from former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, to rig the 2015 general election results.
They were arraigned alongside Yisa Adedoyin, who pleaded guilty to receiving cash payment of N70, 050,000.00 from Mrs Alison-Madueke.
Mrs. Alison-Madueke is also named in the charge, but is said to be “at large.”
Nwosu, who testified on Thursday in a trial –within- trial to determine the truthfulness of statements he made at EFCC, said he got N30million “for logistics.”
But, Head of Special Task Force at EFCC in Lagos, Usman Zakari, who also testified, said Nwosu made his statement voluntarily.
On how he was compelled to forfeit his property, Nwosu said: “On December 28, 2016, I was invited to EFCC. I was interviewed by Mr. Moses. I made a statement of three pages. He said his boss Mr. Zakari wanted to see me. Zakari said: ‘No, you have not written what I want,’ that he would not take that rubbish from me.
“He said he had signed a detention order and that he was going to keep me in custody for as long as he wanted, that even if I brought 10 lawyers or more, they would not help me. He said unless I wrote what he would dictate to me, he was going to make that place my home for a very long time.
“At this threat, I was shaking because I had never had any encounter with the police or a cell. My entire body system collapsed. My head was aching seriously. My eyeballs were heavy as if they would fall off their sockets. My health was failing me. I pleaded with him to please allow me access to my drug in my bag at the gate. He bluntly said ‘no’.
“He told me that Adedoyin had admitted collecting N28million and was released; that being a senior officer, there was no way I would not have not have benefitted by collecting up to N30million (sic). He said unless I stated that I benefitted N30million, he would dump me in the cell. I quickly told him I benefitted. He dictated to me that I should write it; I did.”
Nwosu said he was also forced to write that he would take the EFCC operatives to the bank to make a refund of the money he received.
The INEC official said he told them he had only N5million in his account.
He said an officer and two armed policemen accompanied him to the bank where he raised a draft of N4million and handed it over to Zakari.
He said Zakari asked him to bring another draft for N1milion, which he brought on March 15.
He said EFCC’s prosecutor, Rotimi Oyedepo, walked into the office and asked Zakari not to let him go, but to keep him in custody.
“I knelt before Rotimi. He said: ‘Baba get up; I’ll only advice you to cooperates with us. He said he would not want me to go through the stress of litigation. He asked if I had landed property and cars. He said I should write out the property worth N30million that I had. He said he would ensure that I was convicted and jailed at all cost if I didn’t cooperate,” he added.
