GTBank vs 4 Journalists: "Mechanical Fault Affected Our Evidence", Police Tell Judge

GTBank vs 4 Journalists: "Mechanical Fault Affected Our Evidence", Police Tell Judge

A Chief Superintendent of Police, Michael Abu, on Friday, told a Federal High Court in Lagos that mechanical fault was the reason some video clips needed as evidence against the defendants were missing in the case of four journalists accused of publishing false information about Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) Plc, parent company of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank), and its Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Segun Agbaje.

Seven video clips played by the police on the computer in court were discovered to be duplicates of just two videos, depicting how only two of the four defendants wrote statements. 

The prosecution witness, Abu, in the suit number FHC/L/774C/2024, told the court that the remaining video evidence must have been lost due to mechanical fault in the process of transferring files.

Meanwhile, from the two video footages, the two journalists were seen writing their statements without the presence of any legal representative, confirming the journalists claims.

The trial judge, Justice Ayokunle Faji had called for evidence, in a trial-within-trial,

to prove that the four defendants wrote statements voluntarily as claimed by police.

Earlier, the defendants had claimed to have been coerced to write statements without legal representatives despite telling the police that their lawyers were on their way. 

The Judge had asked the police to provide evidence subsequently to determine the voluntariness of the confessional statements of the defendants.

The police had accused the journalists, Precious Eze, Olawale Rotimi, Rowland Olonishuwa and Seun Odunlami, of alleged conspiracy, cyberstalking and publishing false allegations through their media platforms against GTCO and Agbaje.

Abu told Justice Faji that he supervised the interrogation of the defendants while another member of his team, Yaqob Sule, interrogated them.

Consequently, Justice Faji later admitted the flash drive containing the videos and certificate in evidence and marked the flash drive as Exhibit A and the certificate as Exhibit B. 

The Judge ordered the prosecution to make four copies of the flash drive available to the defence counsel and the court. 

After listening to the arguments of the counsel, Justice Faji adjourned the case till November 13 and 14, 2024, for ruling on the bail applications and cross-examination of the witness.

It would be recalled that the House of Representatives recently launched an investigation into allegations of corruption, falsification of financial reports, and money laundering against Mr. Segun Agbaje, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO), and the bank itself. The investigation followed a petition submitted by Alhaji Yusuf Kabiru, President of the Arewa Consultative Youth Movement, and presented by Hon. Nnamdi Ezechi from Delta State to the lawmakers.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee also reportedly directed Guaranty Trust Holding Company to calculate and remit the Value Added Tax on commissions received from Remita transactions between 2015 and 2022 to the Federal Government.

The committee, chaired by Bamidele Salam, who represents Ede South/Ede North/Ejigbo/Egbedore Federal Constituency in Osun State, issued the directive during an ongoing investigation into alleged revenue leakages through the Remita platform. GTCO’s Executive Director, Mr. Ahmed Liman admitted that the bank had not remitted the VAT for eight years.

Additionally, the Global Integrity Crusade Network (GICN), a non-governmental organization, stormed the National Assembly on October 3, seeking a legislative probe into alleged “corruption, fraud, and financial irregularities” in the bank.

In a statement signed by Amb. Comr. Adebayo Lion Ogorry, Director of Publicity and Mobilization, the group claimed that a private investigator’s report revealed that under the leadership of Segun Julius Agbaje, GTCO had engaged in unsolicited account openings, declaration of fictitious profits, round-tripping, money laundering, terrorism financing, and the use of customers’ and investors’ funds to pay penalties in the United Kingdom.

The journalists currently undergoing trial had brought these issues to public attention in their publications.