GTCO: Police Deny Forcing Journalists To Make Confessional Statements

A Chief Superintendent of Police, Michael Abu, has told a Federal High Court in Lagos that four journalists accused of publishing false information about Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) Plc and its group chief executive officer, Segun Agbaje, made their extra-judicial statements voluntarily.

Abu, who was testifying in a trial-within-trial ordered by the trial judge, Justice Ayokunle Faji, to determine the voluntariness of the confessional statements of the defendants, claimed that due process of the law was followed during the interrogation of the journalists.

The police had accused the journalists, Precious Eze, Olawale Rotimi, Rowland Olonishuwa and Seun Odunlami, of alleged conspiracy, cyberstalking and publishing false allegations through various social media platforms against GTCO and Agbaje.

Apart from publishing misleading information, the defendants were also accused of alleged extortion, threats and causing the loss of shares and market value to their victims.

The police officer also told the court that the defendants made their statements voluntarily and in a conducive environment with caution.

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“We did not beat, flog, coax or torture them into making their statements,” he said.

Abu told Justice Faji that he supervised the interrogation of the defendants while another member of his team, Yaqob Sule, interrogated them.

However, the prosecution sought to tender the flash drive and the certificate as evidence. The defendants, Olakunle Afolabi and Adebisi Adebiyi did not object to the tendering of the exhibits.

Consequently, Justice Faji admitted the flash drive and certificate in evidence and marked the flash drive as Exhibit A and the certificate as Exhibit B.

The Judge ordered the prosecution to make four copies of the flash drive available to the defence counsel.

After listening to the arguments of the counsel, Justice Faji adjourned the case till November 13, 2024, for ruling on the bail applications and cross-examination of the witness.