Suswam: Witness alleges pressure by influential people to change statement to EFCC

Tuesday, February 04, 2020 at 10:27 AM by Nurudeen Lawal

- A witness against former governor Gabriel Suswam has alleged pressure on him to change his statement

- The witness said some influential people have been on his neck, asking him to change the statement to favour the ex-Benue governor

- EFCC is prosecuting Suswman and his ex-commissioner on a financial fraud to the tune of N3.1 billion

The trial of the former governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam, took another twist on Monday, February 3, as one of the witnesses against him appeared before the court.

A statement by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) indicates that the witness identified as Abubakar Umar said some influential people were pressurising him to change his statement to favour Suswan.

The anti-graft commission is prosecuting the ex-Benue governor and his ex-commissioner on a financial fraud to the tune of N3.1 billion.

I was put under pressure to change my statement to favour ex-Benue governor Suswan- Witness — EFCC is prosecuting the ex-Benue governor and his ex-commissioner on a financial fraud to the tune of N3.1 billion.
Source: UGC

Legit.ng gathers that Umar also told the court the ex-Governor Suswam called and told him to meet his lawyer who would give him further instructions.

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Umar added that Suswam's lawyer later questioned him, asking why he wrote his statement "the way he did".

In a related development, a serving governor is topping the list of suspects being investigated by the EFCC for an alleged N6,549,942, 637.14 fraud in an arms deal.

The immediate past governor of Kogi state, Captain Idris Wada, a former chairman of a new generation bank, Tunde Ayeni, retired Air Vice Marshal Salihu Atawodi and four others are also said to be under scrutiny by the anti-graft commission.

According to the report, the alleged fraud was perpetrated by the defunct Presidential Implementation Committee on Maritime Security (PICOMSS), which was headed by Atawodi.

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Meanwhile, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), a non-governmental organisation, has listed seven reasons why Nigeria keeps sliding back in the global Corruption Perception Index (CPI).