Justice Yusuf Halilu of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Maitama, Abuja, on Wednesday adjourned the trial-within-trial in the alleged N109.5 billion fraud case involving former Accountant-General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, until October 13, 2026.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Idris alongside Geoffrey Olusegun Akindele, Mohammed Kudu Usman, and Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange Limited on a 14-count charge bordering on the alleged stealing and diversion of public funds amounting to N109.5 billion.
At the resumed hearing, counsel to Idris, Chris Uche (SAN), presented Hajiya Safiya Idris as a defence witness.
Safiya told the court that she visited the EFCC headquarters in Abuja on June 6, 2022, to see the former Accountant-General and was later allowed into an office where he was writing a statement.
She said two EFCC officers, identified as Hayatu and Mahmud, asked her to sign as a witness to the statement.
According to her, she signed the document after being assured that Idris would be released.
Under cross-examination, the witness admitted that she was neither invited by nor investigated by the EFCC and had visited the commission on her own.
She also stated that the defendant had completed writing the statement before she entered the office and that she signed it only after it had been completed.
The prosecution further questioned her about a portion of the statement indicating that Idris wrote it in her presence. However, she said she could not determine at what stage that part was written.
Following her testimony, the defence closed its case in the trial-within-trial.
Justice Halilu thereafter adjourned the matter until October 13, 2026, for the adoption of final written addresses.
