An Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) witness in the trial of a former Minister of Power and Steel, Dr Olu Agunloye, yesterday, told the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) that there was no specific presidential directive by former President Olusegun Obasanjo to the defendant on the controversial Mambilla power project.
 
Agunloye is being prosecuted by the anti-graft agency before Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie, sitting at Apo, Abuja, in the charge marked CR/617/2023, on an amended seven-count charge related to disobeying a presidential directive, conspiracy, forgery, and receiving gratification.
 
He was further alleged to have received gratification from Leno Adesanya of Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited (SPTCL) in the amount of N5.212 million via Jide Abiodun Sotirin, through his Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) account, for conveying the Federal Government’s approval for the construction of the Mambila Hydroelectric Power Station.
 
The former minister, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge. At the resumed hearing yesterday, the third prosecution witness (PW3), Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Umar Hussain Babangida, while being cross-examined by Agunloye’s lawyer, Adeola Adedipe (SAN), told the court that EFCC’s investigation into the power project led to the filing of the charge against the defendant.
 
Babangida, who said he had been an investigator for over 10 years, told the court he had never, in the course of his duty, had any personal interest or prejudice in any matter, including Agunloye’s case.
 
Asked to confirm that the first count of the charge against the former minister is disobedience to a presidential directive, the PW3 stated that the allegation was true, adding, “The defendant disobeyed the directive of the then President Olusegun Obasanjo and resolution of the Federal Executive Council meeting of 21st May 2003.”

According to him, the presidential directive was neither verbal nor written, but was contained in the minutes of the FEC meeting of May 21, 2003, chaired by Obasanjo. 
 
When confronted with Exhibit EFCC 3(d), earlier tendered through him by the prosecution to show the court where in the minutes of the meeting where the presidential directive was contained, the witness said there was no specific directive. 
 
Despite this, Babangida told the court, “No, I don’t agree that if there was no specific directive, the defendant would not have disobeyed a presidential directive.”
   
He told the court that in his investigative report, he advised that Agunloye be charged in court because he had abused his office as a minister and also had an existing relationship with Leno Adesanya, the alter ego of SPTCL.
   
The witness told the court that Agunloye did not tell EFCC that he had never met Adesanya before the award of the Mambilla contract to SPTCL until 2014, 11 years after leaving office as  minister. 
 
He also denied that the defendant told the anti-corruption commission that his first major relationship with Adessnya was in 2018, 15 years after he ceased being a minister.
 
When the defendant’s counsel asked the witness to read a portion of Agunloye’s extrajudicial statement tendered by EFCC as exhibit, the prosecuting counsel, Abba Mohammed (SAN), raised an objection.
 
According to the senior advocate, the witness could not be cross-examined on a statement that was not his, adding that there was a difference between what the defendant told PW3 and what he wrote in his statement. 
 
Responding to this, Adedipe told the court that the witness tendered the document he was shown to read from as part of his investigation and did not only take Agunloye’s statement but also gave robust evidence on it. 
 
He added that what he was doing was to test the veracity of what the witness told the court with a view to impeaching his credibility, that he was not a witness of truth.
 
The court, however, overruled the prosecution’s objection and directed the witness to read the portion shown him. Babangida subsequently read the portion in which Agunloye wrote that he never met Adesanya before the award of the contract until 2014, 11 years after leaving office as a minister, and his first major relationship with Adesanya was in 2018, 15 years after he ceased being a minister.
 
Meanwhile, Justice Onwuegbuzie has reserved ruling in a motion, marked M/9772/25, in which the defendant sought the leave of court to release his passport. He then adjourned the case to November 3 for continuation of the cross-examination of the PW3.