Babachir Lawal: EFCC Witness Angers Counsel

A Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja was thrown into laughter after a prosecution witness testified against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the on-going trial of the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal and five others.

 Justice Jude Okeke presided over the hearing on Tuesday.

Lawal is facing prosecution for allegedly using his personal company to secure a contract worth about N544 million while in office. The EFCC had slammed a 10-count charge bordering on fraud, diversion of funds and criminal conspiracy.

One of the prosecution charges reads: “That you, Engineer Babachir David Lawal while being the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and a director of Rholavision Engineering Ltd on or about the 22nd August, 2016 at Abuja in the Abuja Judicial Division of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory did knowingly hold indirect private interest in the contract awarded to Josmon Technological Ltd but executed by Rholavision Engineering Ltd for the removal of invasive plant species and simplified irrigation to the tune of N258,132,735.99(Two Hundred and Fifty Eight Million, One Hundred and Thirty Two Thousand, Seven Hundred and Thirty Five Naira only) by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) through the Presidential Initiative for North East (PINE) and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 12 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.”

Hamidu David Lawal (brother to the ex-SGF), Suleiman Abubakar, Apeh John Monday (Josmon Tech Director), Rholavision Engineering Limited (company linked to Babachir) and Josmon Technologies Limited are also indicted in the matter, as the second to sixth defendants.

The prosecution counsel, O. Uket presented Aminu Ahmed, who worked as a principal procurement officer in the office of the SGF and a member of the evaluation committee, to continue his testimony before the court.

Akin Olujimi (SAN) was counsel to Babachir Lawal while the five defendants were represented by their counsel.

The witness told the court that for the award of contracts, the evaluation committee usually makes recommendations to the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) and the Ministerial Tenders Board (MTB) of the SGF and that after thorough checking, they send it to OSGF.

He added that the committee (comprising of permanent secretaries, directors of legal, finance, procurement, internal audit and press) would check reports from contract bids and either approve or reject it.

When the prosecution counsel asked the EFCC witness Ahmed about who signed the contract at issue, he said the contracts for the two companies in the case were signed by him and not the former SGF..

“In the case of Rholavision Engineering Limited and Josmon Technologies, It is I, I signed the letters of award to them,” the witness said.

The witness also said that the committee wrote reports to the MTB for the award of contracts to 108 companies, not just Rholavision Engineering Limited and Josmon Technologies.

But the prosecution told the witness to answer only the questions he asked.

The defendant’s counsel objected and told the court that the prosecution was trying to pressurize the witness to give an answer that did not relate to the documents presented before the court.

But Uket, who did not like the testimonies given by his witness, told the judge that he had a right to treat the witness as a ‘hostile witness.’

“80% of the witnesses are coming from the OSGF and they have been frustrating me,” he said.

But the judge responded that they were his witnesses, but he added that the counsel could use other options of the court.

During cross examination by the first to sixth defendants counsel, the witness said that the ex-SGF was not involved in any procurement exercise that the committee conducted; and that he played no role in the award of contracts to Rholavision and Josmon Technologies.

The witness also said that payments were made by the director of finance, Hamza but he added that he could not tell whether the projects awarded to them were done satisfactorily.

The judge adjourned the trial to 8 April and the prosecution is expected to bring another witness.