EFCC tortured me, dislocated my spinal-cord, all to get at Jonathan, Dudafa claims

A former Special Assistant on Domestic Affairs to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Waripamo-Owei Dudafa, on Tuesday recounted before the Lagos Federal High Court how the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) allegedly dislocated his spinal-cord just to get at his ex-boss.

He, therefore, prayed the court not to judge his case based on statements he made to the EFCC who subjected him to excruciating pains leading to such statement.

“For about two months”, he told the presiding judge, Justice Mohammed Idris, “the EFCC locked me up and subjected me to dehumanising treatments.” This situation according to Dudafa, did not allow him any other option than to write and sign the statements against his will all to secure his freedom.

Dudafa, who now limps, told Justice Idris the reason for his present condition happened due to spinal cord dislocation he suffered in the EFCC custody.

He claimed that the condition would not have got to a level of deforming him if the EFCC had not shunned the recommendation of the military hospital to transfer him to a specialist for treatment.

“The ailment I have today, a spinal cord dislocation, I want to state that it was within that period of torture and agony that my spinal cord got dislocated for sitting all through from morning till night and no one would talk to you, it was excruciating,” he said.

He further told the judge that the EFCC also rejected the offer by his family to take him out for treatment and foot the bill.

Dudafa made these claims when he was led in evidence by his lawyer, Mr. Gboyega Oyewole, during a trial-within-trial to test the authenticity of the confessional statements and asset declaration form he filed while in the EFCC custody.

Narrating more of his experiences he said, “After the 13th of May, 2016, they took me back to the cell and they continued taking me out each day so that I could go through agony. In the cell, I was isolated. I was not treated like any other detainee. All other detainees had access to their phones and food but me. My family members were stopped from bringing food to me and I accused the EFCC of planning to poison me.

“They wanted to break me down, to make me implicate some people. They asked me questions about former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan; they said I was not their targets and made all sorts of overtures but I said over my dead body.”

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He recounted how no fewer than 30 of his friends and family members were arrested because of him, adding that at a point the EFCC froze all his bank accounts, his wife’s and his children accounts.

He said he as could no longer pay the tuition of his child studying in the US coupled with serious daily pain due to his dislocated spinal cord, he succumbed to pressure.

After several weeks of detention, he said he was taken to EFCC’s Deputy Director of Operations, Mr. Iliyasu Kwarbai, who made overtures to him that he would be released if he could cooperate.

“Eventually I had no objection to what he said, because I needed my freedom. I was dying at that time; my son was stranded in the university; my wife and children were hungry, everything became a yardstick to my freedom.

“These statements were largely dictated based on my freedom. The entire so-called asset declaration is a sham. I want to conclude that it will be unfair to use these statements against me. These statements that they themselves orchestrated and tele-guided are what they want to use against me in a court of law. It was bad.

“Statements that were made under such dehumanising, agonising conditions are what they want to use against me in the temple of justice,” Dudafa cried.

When EFCC’s lawyer, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, cross-examined him, Dudafa insisted that his statements were not voluntary.

The case was later adjourned to Tuesday for continued cross-examination by Justice Idris.

Dudafa is being prosecuted for an alleged fraud of N5.1billion naira.

 

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