The Federal High Court in Abuja has admitted in evidence a medical report tendered by the former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, to establish his health status during his investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
The former minister is being tried for alleged fraud over the Mambilla Hydropower Project.
The medical report dated January 16, 2024, was tendered by counsel to the defendant, Femi Atteh, SAN, during the trial-within-trial proceedings, to prove that the former Minister was sick and not in a good state of mind to make a statement to the commission.
Earlier, Justice James Omotosho overruled the EFCC’s objection to replaying the video clip in court, in which the former Minister complained to the EFCC investigators about his health condition.
Defence counsel Femi Atteh, SAN, had applied for the video to be replayed to contradict the prosecution witness, Abubakar Kwaido’s statement that the defendant did not disclose his health before the commencement of the investigation.
Following the ruling, the video was replayed in the open court, establishing that the defendant complained about his ill health and presented his medical report to the EFCC investigator, Abubakar Kwaido, before being asked to make his statement.
After the video was admitted as evidence, the defence counsel asked the witness whether, as an experienced investigator, it was a standard practice to ask someone with a health condition to write a statement.
In his response, the witness said no.The defendant contends that his extra-judicial statements were not voluntarily made because of his ill health.
Meanwhile, during the last proceedings, the defendant challenged the credibility of his earlier statements to the EFCC because they were not covered by the provisions of sections 15 and 17 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, which require a video recording of the defendant’s extra-judicial statements.
In addition, the defendant submitted that some of his statements were obtained without a lawyer, as required by the ACJA Act, 2015.
Defence counsel Atteh referred the court to the statements made on May 10, 11, 12, 15, 17, 2023, August 3, 2023, and August 9, 2023, respectively.
The defence lawyer drew the witness’s attention to the defendant’s statement on February 20, 2024, stating, “I instructed my lawyer to write my statement on my behalf as a result of my ill health. I have submitted a medical report to that effect.”
Atteh then asked the witness whether the defendant’s earlier statements contained such instructions, and he said no.
Meanwhile, the prosecution has closed its case in the trial-within-trial proceedings, and the defendant will now open his defence on the next adjourned date.
