A court registrar at the Federal High Court, Abuja, Nasiru Zubairu has deleted WhatsApp chat evidence from an ongoing N10 billion fraud case against Kogi State chief of staff Ali Bello.
Justice James Omotosho, on Thursday, claimed that Zubairu confessed to him that Dauda Suleiman, the second defendant, approached him to use a code to wipe off some important WhatsApp messages in a telephone set deposited with the court.
According to prosecutors the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Omotosho first played a recording of Zubairu’s confession to him before the court before calling the registrar to speak.
“I have to disclose it because that is what the Chief Judge told us. To ensure we disclose such a thing as early as possible. We have a policy of discovery and disclosure at the Federal High Court. We have zero tolerance for this kind of attitude. The person involved is here, I will call him so that you will hear from the horse’s mouth,” the judge said.
In his confession, Zubairu said that Sulaimon approached him to ask what he wanted from him, and how, in response, he had mentioned that he had accommodation challenges.
“I was asked to delete some certain information, some WhatsApp messages in the exhibits on the promise that I will be given a house,” Zubairu said.
The judge also asked him about the particular chats he deleted.
“I can’t remember but I opened only two chats,” Zubairu responded.
The judge then allowed Rotimi Oyedepo, prosecution counsel to the EFCC, to direct Muhammed Abubakar, the anti-graft agency’s Investigative Officer, to testify before the court if the chats were indeed deleted from the phone.
Abubakar confirmed that exhibits ‘N’ and ‘O’ including chats on several dates from 2020 to 2022 had been deleted.
To confirm the number of chats that had been deleted, the prosecution counsel asked the investigating officer to go through exhibit ‘N’, particularly the conversation involving the ‘Director General, Government’.
After confirmation, Abubakar told the court that chats between December 3, 2020, and December 28, 2020, had been deleted.
“There was no chat on 23 December, it stopped on December 22 and continued on 29 December, 2020,” Abubakar told the court.
He was also directed to check Page 196 of exhibit ‘N’, which are chats on January 13, 2021. He told the court that the chat on that particular day reads, “Abdulrasheed will bring it to Abuja now.”
“On 22 January, 2021, the chat ‘Hudu will bring it now’ was deleted. There is nothing here on the phone it has been deleted,” Abubakar stated.
“What we have on 27th January is ‘Hudu is bringing it’. It has been deleted. I came across this chat at the time of investigation.”
“On 26 January, 2021, ‘Hudu is bringing N100m’ has also been deleted.”
He further testified that the chats on January 26, 2021 and the chats ‘N600m is on transit from Friday…they are on their way coming’ had also been deleted.
“‘Hudu is on his way to Abuja…he is also coming with N30m’,” Abubakar added.
“‘Mr Ododo has collected N50m and will be coming tomorrow to Abuja’ has been deleted.
“While on Page 296, the chat ‘Hudu is on his way coming with N93m, N7m for TJ and for Jan 2022’ has been deleted.”
Oyedepo also asked Abubakar, “On Page 297, there was a reference to Rabiu, that is on 28 February 2022.”
“It is not here my Lord. It has also been deleted,” the investigator responded.
Abubakar checked other chat records and confirmed that vital information on the phone had been deleted.
Oyedepo charged the court to further investigate the issue.
“This issue [shall] be investigated and the report brought to your lordship. There is a very urgent irresistible suspicion that exhibit ‘N’ which contains crucial evidence has been tempered with. We apply that the lordship grant an order revoking the bail of the defendant and order forensic investigation of exhibit ‘N’,” he said.
“I will urge my lord to await the outcome of the investigation.”
Omotosho directed the matter to the Nigeria Police and the Department of State Services (DSS) for investigation before adjourning continuation of the trial for Monday.
