Alleged bribery: Rickey Tarfa’s Employee Refuses To Undergo Lie Detector Test – EFCC

A Staff of the chambers of Rickey Tarfa & Co. declined taking a
polygraph (lie detector) test in an investigation into an
allegation of offering gratification to a judge, a detective
claimed on Thursday.

Umar Mohammed, an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,
EFCC, detective, told an Ikeja Special Offences Court on Wednesday
said that Esther Agbo refused to undergo the test.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Mohammed, a Polygraph
Examiner testified at the trial of Agbo and Justice Mohammed
Yunusa, a dismissed Federal High Court Judge, charged with
corruption.

Citing his credentials, Mohammed said he received training at
the American International Institute for Polygraph in Atlanta,
Georgia, U.S., and remained a member of the American Polygraph
Association.

The detective was led in evidence by EFCC counsel, Mr Ali
Adah.

He said that as part of an investigation into the corruption
allegation against Yunusa, on May 31, 2017, the head of the EFCC
Polygraph Unit received a memo from the headquarters, Abuja, to
conduct a polygraph test on Agbo.

He said that the task was assigned to him on June 1, 2017.

“I was contacted by the second defendant (Agbo); she said that
she was asked to call me via the investigation team of the Lagos
Zonal Office.

“After we spoke, I told her to report to our zonal office in
Abuja on June 4, 2017, which she did.

“On arrival, myself and a colleague, Mohammed Bello, interviewed
her and she told us about a matter and said that the Lagos office
was investigating her.

“She said that it was on that note that she was asked to come
over because the investigating team was not satisfied with her
statement,’’ he told the court.

Mohammed testified that he explained to Agbo the rudiments of a
polygraph test, noting that individuals were not compelled to take
the test, and that consent was paramount.

“She said that we should give her time to go and think about it
and discuss with her husband which we agreed with.

“On June 7, 2017, she called me on phone and informed me that
she was not going to take the test, saying that her husband advised
her against it.

“I told her to come over to put it in writing, which she did in
the form of a statement,” he said.

The prosecution sought to tender Agbo’s statement before the
EFCC and a report on the statement as exhibits.

John Odubela (SAN) Agbo’s counsel, however, objected to it on
the ground that they were not part of the proof of evidence.

“Section 251(1) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law,
2017, requires that documents to be used in proceedings must be
frontloaded.

“My lord, this is a surprise to us, and we urge my lord to
reject it,” Odubela said.

Justice Sherifat Solebo granted the defence counsel’s prayer and
marked the documents as rejected.

While being cross-examined by Odubela, Mohammed told the court
that he was not a member of the team that investigated Agbo and
Yunusa.

A subpoenaed witness, Caleb Izedomini, presented to the court
Certified True Copies, CTC, of the bank account statements of the
Rickey Tarfa and Co., a law firm of Ricky Tarfa (SAN), and bank
account statement of Justice Mohammed Yunusa from January 2014 to
February 2014.

Odubela, however objected to tendering the documents.

“The best that the witness can do is to present the documents;
he cannot tender for the purpose of marking the exhibits,” he
said.

Justice Solebo held that the documents would remain in the
custody of the court.

She adjourned the case until Feb. 21 for continuation of
trial.

NAN reports that Yunusa is facing a four-count charge of
attempted perversion of the course of justice and corruption by a
public official, while Agbo is standing trial on a count of
offering gratification to a public official.

According to the EFCC, Yunusa had constant and confidential
communications with Tarfa, who was handling three lawsuits marked
FHC/L/CS/714/2015, FHC/L/CS/715/2015 and FHC/L/CS/716/2015 before
the judge.

It also alleged that Yunusa collected N1.5 million bribe from
Tarfa for the purpose of giving favourable rulings and judgments in
the cases.

The judge is also being accused of receiving N750, 000 from one
Joseph Nwobike, between March 2015 and September 2015, to get
“favourable” judgment in some cases.

Nwobike has been convicted of perverting the course of
justice.

The EFCC alleged that Agbo paid the N1.5 million from Tarfa into
Yunusa’s UBA account number 1005055617 on May 14, 2015.

The offences violate Sections 64(1)(a) and 97(3) of the Criminal
Law of Lagos State, 2011.

NAN