EFCC Operatives Made Me Promise That I Would Refund N1 Billion – Ex-BPE DG, Dikki

Former Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Benjamin Dikki has told an FCT High Court on Tuesday that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) forced him to make a commitment that he would refund N1 billion.

Naija News reports that Dikki is being prosecuted by EFCC, alongside his company, Kebna Studio and Communications Limited, before Justice Yusuf Halilu.

He was dragged to court on a four-count charge bordering on receiving a bribe and abuse of office.

Dikki reportedly received N1 billion bribe from Bestworth Insurance Brokers, for his role in facilitating the approval of outstanding insurance premiums and claims of deceased and incapacitated staff of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).

Dikki told the court that an EFCC operative from Zuru told him that they had arrested his son and wife after searching for him to no avail.

The defendant lamented that he was surprised by the development as he did not receive any  invitations from the anti-graft agency.

“I agreed to appear at the EFCC office on Sept. 1, 2016. On arrival at the commission, I was taken to the team leader, one Bashir.

“Bashir told me that the commission had finished its investigation and that there was nothing to say, other than to write a statement that I would refund the N1 billion paid into the account of Kebna Studio.

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

He said despite telling the officer that he could not make such a commitment, the operatives insisted and later took him to the commission’s cell. He added that he was detained in the cell from 6 pm to 7:40 pm.

Dikki said he was neither with his lawyer, Ali Suberu when he was made to write his statements nor advised to get any lawyer before writing the statements.

He further told the court that: “On Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016, Bashir came into the cell and told me that I was the one detaining myself because I was blowing long grammar and that once I commit to refund, I would be released.”

Under cross-examination by EFCC counsel Chris Mshellia, Dikki told the court that he was not arrested by the EFCC.

According to him, he wrote statements after being cautioned that anything he wrote would be used against him in court.

“I had no option but to write the statements. The operatives tried to dictate what I should write in my statement. I was harassed and tortured, psychologically by the operatives,” he said.

After his testimony, Justice Halilu adjourned until Jan. 16, 2024, for adoption of processes in the trial-within-trial.