Lagos – The Directorate of State Security (DSS) has denied ever putting one of the suspected arms importers arrested by the customs in chains.
A DSS agent, Jaiye Emmanuel, told a Federal High Court, in Lagos, that none of the suspects arrested in connection with the illegal importation of 611 pump action rifles had their legs chained during interrogation by the department.
Jaiye stated this while being cross examined by Mr. Yakubu Galadima, the lawyer to Hassan Mamudu Nigeria Limited and Mamudu Hassan, the first and second accused in the alleged act.
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) had on June 14, 2017, arraigned both Mamudu Hassan and his company, alongside Salisu Abdulahi Danjuma, Oscar Orkafor, Donatus Ezebunwa Achinulo and Matthew Okoye, who is allegedly at large, before Justice Ayotunde Faji’s court, on charges bordering on illegal importation of fire arms, conspiracy, forgery and altering of documents, offering of graft to government officials and importation of prohibited goods.
The offences according to the prosecutor, Mr. Julius Ajakaiye, are contrary to and punishable under sections 3(6),1(14)(a)(I) 1(2) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act Cap. M17, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and section 98(1) (b) of the Criminal Code Act.
At the resumed hearing of the case Wednesday, Jaiye who told the court that he is a Staff Officer Technical of DSS, while narrating the role he played during the interrogation of the accused, during cross-examination by Galadima, told the court that he interrogated the accused (Mamudu Hassan) when he was transferred to their office sometimes in March 2017, and that the accused made a statement, but he could not remember the exact date.
The detective, when asked if the accused was leg chained during interrogation, replied: “He was not leg chained’, though, he said in the video recorded by him which he played in the open court, the legs of the accused did not show, because the table at the conference room where the interrogation took place was covered.
He also told the court that none of the interrogators at the conference room where the accused was interrogated carried arms during interaction with the accused person.
When probed further if he knew how the accused persons were brought to the conference room, the DSS operative said he did not know how they were brought to the conference room, because his department had other people for that.
When further questioned if the accused was represented during interrogation by the lawyers to other accused persons including: Rotimi Jacobs and Dr. Paul Ananaba, who are Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), and H. A. Ibrahim, the DSS operative told the court that he was not represented by anybody, except when his brother came in to read out part of the Bill of Lading which was used to bring in the guns, because the accused said he was having difficulty in reading it.
He also told the court how the interrogation was recorded by him and one Bolaji Adeyemi, whom he said did not play any major role.
He also informed the court that each of the accused persons were interrogated separately, and that he did not write any statement concerning them during and after the interrogation of the accused persons.
The matter has been adjourned till Thursday, 29 March, 2018 for continuation of trial of accused persons.
AGF in charge number FHC/L/190c/17, alleged that all the accused persons conspired with one another to illegally import into Nigeria 661 Pump Action Rifles.
They also allegedly forged the documents which includes: two Bill of Ladings, one reads ‘Shanghai, China’, as Port of Loading, instead of ‘Istanbul’, and another one which reads: ‘Steel Doors’, as the contents of the container instead of Customs’ Form M, Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) used in smuggling the said 661 rifles Into the country.
In particular, Mahmud Hassan, a retired Assistant Comptroller of Customs, allegedly corruptly offered the sum of N400, 000 to one Aliu Musa, the Examination Officer of the Federal Operations Unit of the Customs Service with an intent to prevent hundred percent search on a container marked PONU 825914/3, which was used in bringing the arms into the country.
He also allegedly corruptly gave the sum of N1 million to Government officials at Apapa Port, through his colleague, Danjuma Abdulahi, in order to prevent the search of the said container used in bringing in the 661 illegally imported Pump Action rifles.
