Yakubu Busari
In the case of Trial within Trial (TWT) involving the second defendant ,Mr Yusuf Gyang Pam by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Commission ICPC, Holden at Plateau State High Court under Justice Daniel Longji, the TWT, PW1 Head of operation, Mr Taiwo Olurumyomi told the court that the second defendant on the 17th November 2016 came to human resource unit is accompanied by one Gyang Sha and gave a voluntary statement .
The Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC, prosecution counsel, Barr. Adebisi Adeniyi said that the matter was adjourned for trial within Trial; “my Lord I like to inform this Honourable court that the Plateau State government has reviewed the administration of criminal justice particularly section 88 subsections, 8,9 of the law.
He explained that in the case of trial within a trial the judge has the right to reserve his ruling and at the end of the trial that can be joined with the final judgment.
Adebisi Adeniyi in the course of his explanation brought section 38 of the administration of the criminal justice system, saying that section doesn’t change the position of law or stop the trial.
Justice Daniel Longji; “ I think the provision of section 38 (8,9) of the administration of criminal is a new development in the trial to avoid injunction or to bring about an unnecessary delay in prosecution.
According to him, the prosecution can go on with the case where the defendant would bring in arguments when the court will consider whether the case can be taken alongside the argument, so he ordered the prosecution to proceed with the hearing.”
However, the TWT-PW1 (Taiwo Olurumyomi ) was brought into the witness box for cross-examination over what happened on the 10th April 2016 ,he told the court that he knew the second defendant sometime in 2016 when the Plateau State Government forwarded a petition to ICPC alleging several corrupt practices by the administration of the first defendant, Sen Jonah David Jang, which the petition was assigned to his team and the team comprised of himself and the head of the department, Fatima Mohammed.
Olurumyomi said that in the course of their investigation; “we wrote to several agencies in Plateau State and others to help recover documents that would be helpful to them to unravel the truth when and where they trace some useful information linking the second defendant, Mr. Yusuf Gyang Pam who is a cashier to the state government.
The circumstances and atmosphere where the second defendant gave us his statement was that we invited him to the headquarters for interrogation as one of the people suspected to have played a role in the issue we were investigating.
He came with one other person and reported himself to the human resource unit of the ICPC as met one Samuel Lodam who is an indigene of Plateau State.
The person he came with was Mr. Gyang Sha, “so we took him to interview him on his role, we told him you are under arrest for criminal conspiracy to misappropriate funds, then we ask him whether he can write, he agreed and wrote all the statement.
He was able to explain his role and he was willing to put it in writing, we then gave him ICPC form with cautionary words printed in it with ICPC act written in it so that he will read which he did.
We then ask about the person he came with having read the condition he said he will bring another person since the person he came with cannot bail him since he didn’t meet the stipulated bail condition.
He added that due to his duty schedule he can’t make it the following day and he couldn’t come back till the 18th November 2019.
“On the 18th, November 2019 Yusuf Gyang came with one Marcus Dye who didn’t meet the bail conditions but we allowed him to stand to bail him as he invited Habila Dung, so I cannot remember using force on him.
He said; “I and the head of the operation, Mrs. Fatima Mohammed invited the second defendant to the headquarters for further interrogation on his involvement in the misappropriation of public funds belonging to Plateau state government.
