The prosecution’s case in the trial of former Minister of Power, Dr. Olu Agunloye, came under renewed scrutiny on Thursday after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) fifth witness made a series of admissions over the preparation and certification of key Federal Executive Council (FEC) documents, prompting the defence to question the reliability of the prosecution’s documentary evidence.
Barrister John Illya Iyakwari, an Assistant Director (Legal) in the Federal Ministry of Power, told the FCT High Court in Apo, Abuja, that he prepared an extract of the FEC minutes tendered by the EFCC without first seeing the original minutes from which the document was derived.
The witness also acknowledged that although he had earlier testified that the document was certified in June 2023, it was in fact certified in January 2024—about seven months after it had already been forwarded to the anti-graft agency.
Under cross-examination, Iyakwari further admitted that an EFCC official, Umar Babangida, later returned the document to him for certification. He told the court he endorsed it as a true copy without comparing it with the original FEC minutes or verifying whether any changes had been made while it remained in the commission’s custody.
The testimony took another turn when Iyakwari was confronted with two versions of the FEC extract admitted in evidence as Exhibits 3D and 3K. After examining the documents during cross-examination, he said they were “different in form and substance.”
However, during re-examination by the prosecution on Thursday, the witness stated that the two exhibits were “the same verbatim” in relevant portions, a position that immediately drew an objection from the defence.
Defence counsel argued that the prosecution was attempting to cure inconsistencies exposed during cross-examination by eliciting fresh evidence during re-examination, contrary to the provisions of the Evidence Act. The trial judge, however, ruled that the objection would be considered alongside other issues at the final address stage.
Following the conclusion of Iyakwari’s testimony, the EFCC closed the evidence of its fifth witness and informed the court that its sixth witness would be called when proceedings resume on Monday, July 6.
Agunloye is standing trial over the 2003 award of the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project under a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) arrangement. The former minister has denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty to the charges.