Under pressure from EFCC operatives, I was forced to commit to refunding N1bn  – Ex-BPE DG Dikki

Benjamin Dikki, a former director general of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), testified before an FCT High Court on Tuesday that he was coerced by EFCC agents to promise to return N1 billion.

In front of Justice Yusuf Halilu, Dikki and his business, Kebna Studio and Communications Limited, are being prosecuted by the EFCC.

He was hauled into court on four counts that included allegations of abuse of office and accepting a bribe.

It was reported that he accepted a N1 billion bribe from Bestworth Insurance Brokers in exchange for his assistance in approving unpaid insurance premiums and claims from the employees of the now-defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) who were deceased or disabled.

Between January and February 2015, when he was working as BPE DG, the defendants were accused of committing an action that violated Section 17(1)(a) of the Corrupt Practises and Other Related Offences provision, 2000, and was punished under the same provision.

Dikki testified in court that on August 29, 2016, he received a call from a Zuru-based EFCC agent informing him that the commission was searching for him and had gone to arrest his son and wife.

He claimed that since he had not received any invites from the anti-graft agency, this had astonished him.

I consented to show up at the EFCC headquarters on September 1, 2016. I was introduced to the team leader, one Bashir, when I arrived at the commission.

“Bashir informed me that the commission had completed its inquiry and that all I could do was issue a statement promising to return the N1 billion that had been deposited into Kebna Studio’s account.

He told the court, “I told him I that cannot make such a commitment, and he said I was wasting their time.”

He claimed that even though he informed the officer that he was unable to commit to such a commitment, the agents persisted and subsequently brought him to the commission’s cell. He continued by saying that he was held in the cell from 6 until 7:40 p.m.

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Dikki claimed that when he was forced to write his statements, he was neither with his attorney, Ali Suberu, nor was he counselled to consult a lawyer beforehand.

In addition, he stated in court that “On Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016, Bashir entered the cell and informed me that I was the one being held because I was using improper grammar and that I would be released as soon as I agreed to pay back the money.”

He said that in order to preserve his freedom, he had arranged for the EFCC to receive a payment of N50 million. He further stated that the money was received on Monday, September 5, 2016, a day later, and that was the reason he was freed the next day.

Dikki stated to the court during EFCC attorney Chris Mshellia’s cross-examination that he had not been arrested by the organisation.

He claimed that after being informed that everything he wrote could be used against him in court, he wrote statements.

All I could do was write the statements. The operatives attempted to give me instructions on what to include in my statement. The operators psychologically tormented and harassed me,” he claimed.

Following his testimony, Judge Halilu postponed the trial-within-trial’s adoption of procedures until January 16, 2024.