The State Security Service on Wednesday told an
Abuja Federal High Court that Senator Aliyu Ndume asked a self-confessed
spokesman of the violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram, Ali Kodunga (a.ka
Al-Zawahiri), to call and threaten the Attorney-General of the Federation and
Minister of Justice,Mohammed Adoke (SAN).
Konduga has since been convicted on two counts of
criminal breach of public trust and intimidation through anonymous
communication. He is currently serving a three-year prison term.
The SSS said it made the discovery when Ndume’s
mobile telephone call logs were analysed during investigations. The
Senator is facing terrorism charges brought against him by the Federal
Government.
On June 14, 2012, a Federal High Court in Abuja
presided by Justice Gabriel Kolawole, ruled that Ndume must face trial on
four counts of terrorism .
The court also dismissed a motion filed by his
counsel, Chief Rickey Tarfa (SAN), seeking the dissolution of the charges
against him. Ndume is accused of having links with Boko Haram and also
being involved in its activities.
When the trial resumed on Wednesday, a chief
investigative officer in the SSS, Mr. James Inneh, told the court that Ndume
gave Adoke’s phone number to Konduga.
According to Inneh, the alleged threat by
Konduga was to force the AGF to influence the outcome of the election
tribunal sitting in Borno State in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party.
Inneh said , “Konduga, in his confessional
statement told the SSS that Ndume gave him the phone number of the AGF to
threaten him (AGF) that they would make Borno State ungovernable if he did not
ensure that the Borno State Election Petition Tribunal gave judgment in favour
of the PDP.”
The agent admitted that Ndume gave some materials
he obtained from Boko Haram to Vice-President Namadi Sambo and the Director-General
of the SSS, while he served as a member of the Presidential Committee on
Security Challenges in the North-East.
Inneh said, “We investigated his claim by
using our tradecraft. We did not have any audience with the VP but we
investigated. His (Ndume) phones were sent to experts for analysis and after
the phones were analysed, we did not tell him about our findings.
“He was not there when the analyses were
carried out. Some of the materials we took from his house were laptops, GSM
phones, an international passport and other things.”
Inneh said he could not recall if Ndume had
written a letter to the Inspector-General of Police to ask for protection.
Justice Kolawole, however, adjourned
the trial to November 1- 5 and December 11, 2012.
Ndume had asked the court to acquit him of the
charges, arguing that the proof of evidence filed by the prosecution did not
link him with the sect.
Ndume said his alleged relationship with Konduga,
which formed the basis of the charges against him, came as a result of his
membership of the presidential committee set up to address the security
challenges in the North-East.
Ndume told the court that before his appointment
as a member of the committee, he had no contact with Konduga or any other
member of the sect.
However, in a counter-affidavit, the prosecution
counsel, Mrs. Olufumilayo Fatunde, had asked the court to hold that Ndume’s
trial must proceed summarily in line with Section 33(2) of the Federal High
Court Act.
Ruling on the matter, the court maintained that,
after studying the charges brought against the Senator, it found that he had a
case to answer.
Kolawole said, “There is a link between the
accused person and the offences listed in counts one to four.
“The mere presence of a probable defense to a criminal
charge is not enough to quash the charge. The fact that an accused person
denied the charges is not enough to quash the charges. There is a link between
the accused person and some members of the Boko Haram.”
The Punch
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