By Dare Akogun
A Chief Superintendent of Police, Michael Abu, told a Federal High Court in Lagos on Friday that a mechanical fault was responsible for the loss of some video clips needed as evidence in the case against four journalists accused of publishing alleged false information about Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) Plc, parent company of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank), and its Group Chief Executive Officer, Segun Agbaje.
During the trial, police presented seven video clips, which turned out to be duplicates of only two videos. The two clips showed just two of the four defendants writing statements.
Explaining the situation, Abu stated that the missing video evidence may have been lost while files were being transferred.
From the two existing video footages, it was observed that the journalists were writing their statements without any legal representatives present, corroborating the journalists’ claims of being denied access to their lawyers during interrogation.
The defendants had previously alleged that they were coerced into making statements without their lawyers, despite informing the police that legal representatives were on their way.
The trial judge, Justice Ayokunle Faji, called for a trial-within-trial to determine the voluntariness of the statements, as the police claimed that the four journalists wrote the statements willingly.
The defendants, identified as Precious Eze, Olawale Rotimi, Rowland Olonishuwa, and Seun Odunlami, face charges of conspiracy, cyberstalking, and publishing false information against GTCO and Agbaje.
Abu, who supervised the interrogation, testified that the questioning was conducted by another officer, Yaqob Sule, under his watch.
Following his testimony, Justice Faji admitted a flash drive containing the videos and a certificate as evidence, marking them as Exhibit A and Exhibit B, respectively. The Judge ordered that four copies of the flash drive be provided to the defence counsel and the court.
After hearing arguments from the legal teams, Justice Faji adjourned the case to November 13 and 14, 2024, for a ruling on the bail applications and further cross-examination of the prosecution witness.
