Court postpones Idris ex‑AGF case over alleged N109 billion fraud until October.

Justice Yusuf Halilu of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Maitama, Abuja, adjourned the trial‑within‑trial of former Accountant‑General of the Federation Ahmed Idris to 13 October 2026 to allow the parties to submit their final written addresses.

Idris is facing a 14‑count indictment from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The charges allege that he stole and fraudulently diverted public funds amounting to N109.5 billion. The prosecution also includes Geoffrey Olusegun Akindele, Mohammed Kudu Usman and Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange Limited.

The court had previously ordered the trial‑within‑trial on 22 November 2022 after counsel for the first defendant, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), applied to challenge the admissibility of statements made by his client to the EFCC. Uche argued that those statements were obtained through deception and inducement.

During the resumed hearing, Uche informed the court that the defence was presenting a witness. The defence called Hajiya Safiya Idris, who described herself as having a long‑standing family relationship with the former Accountant‑General and said she regarded him “like a father.”

Safiya testified that she visited the EFCC headquarters in Abuja on 6 June 2022 to see Idris while he was in custody. She said she was initially told that he was not in the detention facility but in the main building, and she was later allowed into an office after waiting for some time.

According to her, two EFCC officers—Hayatu and Mahmud—asked her to sign as a witness to a statement being written by Idris. She confirmed that the signature and handwriting on the document shown to the court were hers.

Safiya said she wrote that the statement was taken in her presence because she had been assured that Idris would be released. Under cross‑examination by prosecution counsel A.O. Atolagbe, she admitted that she had not been invited or investigated by the EFCC and had visited the Commission on her own.

She also told the court that Idris had completed the statement before she entered the office and that she signed the document after it had been concluded. The witness further stated that Idris was unaware of her presence at the EFCC until she was invited into the office to sign the statement.

When confronted with a section of the 6 June 2022 statement indicating that Idris was writing the statement in her presence, Safiya said she did not know at what stage the statement was written. She confirmed that her name did not appear on any other statements made by the defendant because she was not present when those statements were taken.

The witness also acknowledged that she did not file any complaint after signing the statement and agreed that she was under no obligation to write anything for the EFCC since she was not under investigation. However, she maintained that she was truthful when she stated that the statement was taken in her presence.

After her testimony concluded and no further questions were posed by the prosecution, the witness was discharged. The defence then closed its case in the trial‑within‑trial. Justice Halilu adjourned the matter until 13 October 2026 for the adoption of final written addresses.