EFCC forced me to write statement, ex-air force chief tells court

A former Chief of Administration at the Nigerian Air Force
headquarters, Air Vice Marshal Mohammed Alkali Mamu, yesterday told
an Abuja High Court on how the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) forced him to write a statement against his
wish.

The Federal Government is prosecuting Mamu over an alleged
bribery. During yesterday’s proceedings before Justice Salisu
Garba, Mamu, who pleaded not guilty to the four-count amended
bribery charge preferred against him by the antigraft agency, told
the court that he was tutored and forced by the EFCC operatives to
write a statement on excessive expenditure. Led in evidence by his
counsel, Chief Joseph Daudu, SAN, Mamu narrated that the EFCC did
not only suppress his statement but also threatened to drag in his
two daughters should he fail to refund the money he was being
accused of collecting as bribe. ”

I requested and insisted that I needed my lawyers during my
interrogation and when my statement was obtained but the EFCC
refused and said that I did not need one.

“Commander Sunday Jigawa, who was at that time NAF Deputy
Director escorted me to the commission and I requested to have him
present during my interrogation and when my statement was obtained
but they declined.

“The first statement I wrote is not before this court. The
additional statement marked n1 and n4 obtained from St1 was removed
from the statement I made.

A former Chief of Administration at the Nigerian Air Force
headquarters, Air Vice Marshal Mohammed Alkali Mamu, yesterday told
an Abuja High Court on how the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) forced him to write a statement against his
wish.

The Federal Government is prosecuting Mamu over an alleged
bribery. During yesterday’s proceedings before Justice Salisu
Garba, Mamu, who pleaded not guilty to the four-count amended
bribery charge preferred against him by the antigraft agency, told
the court that he was tutored and forced by the EFCC operatives to
write a statement on excessive expenditure. Led in evidence by his
counsel, Chief Joseph Daudu, SAN, Mamu narrated that the EFCC did
not only suppress his statement but also threatened to drag in his
two daughters should he fail to refund the money he was being
accused of collecting as bribe. ”

I requested and insisted that I needed my lawyers during my
interrogation and when my statement was obtained but the EFCC
refused and said that I did not need one.

“Commander Sunday Jigawa, who was at that time NAF Deputy
Director escorted me to the commission and I requested to have him
present during my interrogation and when my statement was obtained
but they declined.

“The first statement I wrote is not before this court. The
additional statement marked n1 and n4 obtained from St1 was removed
from the statement I made.