The
State Security Service has explained how it conducted its
investigations and charged a Federal High Court judge, Ademola to court.
Justice Adeniyi Ademola
Babatunde Adepoju, an official of the State Security Service, SSS,
who is also a witness in the ongoing trial of a Federal High Court
judge, Adeniyi Ademola, has explained how the SSS conducted its
investigations before charges were drawn against the defendants.
Mr. Ademola is facing trial alongside his wife, Olubowale, who is
the immediate past Head of Service of Lagos State, and Joe Agi, a Senior
Advocate of Nigeria.
According to SaharaReporters, the witness, Babatunde Adepoju, who
led the investigations into the alleged offenses committed by the
defendants, said he was assigned to the case after a search warrant was
executed at the residence of the defendant in October.
Mr. Adepoju explained that he was assigned to investigate the
matter following the recoveries made during the search at the residence
of the defendants, and other allegations, including those contained in a
petition written against Mr. Ademola.
“There was also the allegation that the judge used his position
as an FHC judge and his close ties with Senator Ahmed Tinubu to
influence the appointment of his wife as head of service, Lagos State.
“My duty was also to conduct follow-up investigations as regards the monetary recoveries in Justice Ademola’s apartment,” said Mr. Adepoju, who described himself as a well-read investigative officer.
He, however, added that Mr. Ademola denied influencing his wife’s
appointment, adding that the judge explained that his wife was the most
senior permanent secretary in Lagos State at the time of her
appointment.
Mr. Adepoju told the court that the recoveries made from Mr.
Ademola’s residence included local and foreign currencies in hundreds of
thousands, as well as two firearms belonging to Mr. Ademola and another
judge, A.R. Mohammed.
According to Mr. Adepoju, the SSS also employed a ballistician who
checked the rifles found at the residence of Mr. Ademola during the
search in October.
After checking the firearms, Mr. Adepoju said the guns were of the
category of prohibited ammunition which could only be licensed at the
discretion of the President of the country.
He added that although Mr. Ademola had confirmed that the guns,
which had two different licenses, (one for himself and the other for Mr.
Mohammed), belonged to the two judges, Mr. Mohammed denied ownership of
the rifle.
The SSS operative further said there were also allegations of
bribery against the first defendant, which according to his principal,
influenced the order by the defendant for the release of the leader of
the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, and former National
Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki.
Justice Ademola and his wife in court
Mr. Adepoju also told the court that of particular reference in his
investigation was a set of payments made in three tranches to the
account of Mrs. Ademola shortly before certain court orders were made by
Mr. Ademola, in a case involving a client of Mr. Agi.
“In my further investigation on the connection between Mrs.
Ademola and Agi, I tried to establish if Barr. Agi had cases pending or
concluded before Justice Ademola, and I discovered that they actually
had cases in court,” he said.
“Two among the cases that raised eyebrows were of AMCON vs. FRN
and Friday Upkong vs. Chief of Naval Staff. These two cases involved
huge sums of money.
“Both cases emanated from Calabar, Cross-River State, Justice
Ademola’s previous posting. In the AMCON case, three garnishee orders
were granted by Justice Ademola in favor of Joe Agi’s client, which is
Linas International Limited”.
Speaking further, Mr. Adepoju explained how his department arrived
at the allegation that Mr. Agi had paid N30 million into the account of
Mr. Ademola to influence a judgment.
The witness said the money was paid by two maritime businessmen,
Ken Hubert and Bassey Bassey. According to the witness, the men paid the
sum of $150, 000 which was later converted to naira by Mr. Agi to the
tune of N37 million.
“According to Joe Agi, the conversion rate was N37 million, but he remitted N30 million to Ms. Olubowale’s account”, the witness stated.
During cross-examination, however, Mr. Adepoju said the allegations
of influencing the appointment of Mrs. Ademola, made against her
husband was a verbal brief given to him by his superior; adding that as
an investigative officer, he has the discretion to either accept the
brief or refuse it, based on evidence at his disposal.
In response to Mr. Adepoju’s statement on influencing Mrs.
Ademola’s appointment, the defense lawyer asked whether he had any such
evidence and he responded in the negative.
Mr. Adepoju also said he did not charge Mr. Ademola based on the
allegations contained in the cited petition against him due to the
insufficiency of evidence.
“I am trained to go through any fact-finding quest with an
objective mind. These are mere allegations subject to be confirmed or
refuted, based on supporting documents,” he answered.
Asked whether he found any available evidence incriminating Mr.
Ademola with allegations of bribery in Messrs. Dasuki and Kanu’s cases,
the witness answered in the negative.
He also said he could not provide a link between the first
defendant and any case in court involving the maritime businessmen,
Messrs. Hubert and Bassey, who he had said paid $150, 000 to Mrs.
Ademola’s account.
Mr. Adepoju also answered in the negative when asked if there was a
link between the case involving Friday Ukpong and the maritime
businessmen.
Reading through a document provided by the defense counsel, Mr.
Adepoju confirmed that the money was paid by the businessmen, shortly
before a wedding of Mr. Ademola’s daughter.
Mr. Adepoju also confirmed that the ballistician whose report on
the rifles were recorded was invited in January, months after the case
was filed.
He, however, added that the second ballistician was invited because
the Service was not satisfied with the investigation first conducted by
the police.
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