‘EFCC witnesses couldn’t indict me’ — Shehu Sani speaks on trial

Shehu Sani, an ex-senator, says the witnesses of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) could not indict him in court.

On Tuesday, the anti-graft agency which had arrested Sani for allegedly extorting one Sani Dauda, owner of ASD Motors, of $25,000, called two witnesses to testify in court.

Sani, who represented Kaduna central senatorial district between 2015 and 2019, allegedly told Dauda that he would pass the money on to Ibrahim Magu, acting chairman of the anti-graft agency.

He also reportedly said he could assist Dauda in influencing the outcome of some cases using his connection with the CJN and some other judges.

He was subsequently granted N10 million bail and a surety in like sum after pleading not guilty.

On Tuesday, the former senator took to Twitter to express his feeling over the trial which he has described as a witch hunt.

When their own witnesses failed to indict or implicate me for $25k ‘extortion’,they now posted on their Twitter handle that its ‘$10 Million fraud’.This tells the motive and the whole intention.

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— Senator Shehu Sani (@ShehuSani) February 25, 2020

The anti-graft agency later corrected the error of $10 million. EFCC had presented Beckley Ojo and Elizabeth Muka, both compliance officers of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) as witnesses.

The witnesses told the court that the transactions from ASD Motors were made to one Sheriff Zelani Shanono and Abubakar Ahmad.

Ojo told the court that he personally generated the statement of the beneficiary’s account and forwarded it to the EFCC.

He further explained that the name of the beneficiary from the covering letter who received the sum of N3.5million from Dauda is Shanono.

Muka, in her testimony, said that there was a transfer of N5million on November 20, 2019, which was carried out from the account of Dauda to one Abubakar Ahmed, adding that there was another N3million that was transferred to Shanono.

She further told the court that on January 23,  she packaged the account  opening documents, a cover memo and other documents and sent to the EFCC as the commission requested.

Pointing at Sani, Abdul Ibrahim, his counsel, asked the EFCC witnesses during the cross examination if they could identify him as either Sani Dauda or Sheriff Shanono but both witnesses said they could not.

Inyang Ekwo, the presiding judge, subsequently adjourned the case till February 26.