Daniel’s trial: Court orders police to probe alleged death threat against star witness

An Ogun State High Court sitting in Abeokuta yesterday ordered for a police investigation into the alleged threat to the life of Mr Adeluola Babatunde, the star witness in the 38-count criminal charge slammed against former Governor Gbenga Daniel by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC).Babatunde, a Business Development Manager with Sky Bank Plc who in May 7 sitting testified that he managed the account of Blue Chapel Company (a firm where Daniel is believed to have interest), cited "threat" to his "life" by unknown persons as one of the reasons he could not come to court at the last adjourned date.

But yesterday at the resumed trial of Daniel, Justice Olanrewaju Mabekoje, ordered that there should be no further inquiry into the allegations of threat to the life of Babatunde by either defence or prosecution counsel "in order not to unnecessarily delay the hearing of the matters" of the case.

Justice Mabekoje, therefore, ruled that investigation into the said allegations should be undertaken by the police and he asked the prosecution, the EFCC, to formally report the threat case to the Ibara Divisional Police Headquarters for a probe with the Certified True Copy(CTC) of police findings submitted to the court upon conclusion of the investigation.

The order followed the oral evidence given yesterday by Witness Babatunde that his life was neither threatened by Daniel nor any person related to him, adding that the reason he was not in court at the last June 5 adjourned date emanated from an ill health.

The witness spoke when cross - examined by Daniel's lead counsel, Prof. Taiwo Osipitan.

When the commission re -cross examined the witness at the court yesterday to explain why discrepancies existed in Skye Bank's statements of accounts of Blue Chapel Company - designated as exhibit 1 and exhibit 11 by the court, the defence counsel, Prof. Osipitan objected.

Osipitan argued that the oral evidence cannot be used to add to or subtract from what has been put in writing, stressing whatever discrepancies the prosecution felt it has observed, such could be "resolved at the stage of court address or judgment."

Defence counsel posited further that the witness is incompetent to provide answers to the questions put forward to him on the grounds that he was not yet a staff of Skye bank at the time the transactions recorded in statements of accounts were carried out.

According to Osipitan, whatever answers the Witness volunteered to the prosecution's re - examination, would amount to "tissues of hearsay evidence."

Countering, EFCC counsel, Mr Rotimi Jacobs said the objection by defence counsel was weak.

Citing Aguda 20.24, Jacobs said the witness is required to explain the contradictions in the statement of accounts of Blue Chapel Company.

But after listening to the arguments of both counsel, Justice Mabekoje ruled that the witness should answer the question regarding contradictions in the two statement of accounts.

And in explaining, Witness Babatunde told the court that the contradictions existed in the two statements of account marked exhibit 1 and 11 because some of the "enteries in exhibit 11 were missing," stressing that account for why the data contained there may not balance.

The case has been adjourned till July 9 for the continuation of the trial and to enable the EFCC make some of its other witnesses available in court by the next adjourned date.

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