As part of measures geared towards strengthening the quality of investigations and prosecution, as well as ensure that operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, continue to effectively manage complex financial crimes and secure convictions through rigorous, evidence-based investigations, the Commission has stepped up training of its staff on Documentary Evidence and Admissibility in Enugu.
The training, a weekly capacity building programme, initiated by the Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, is aimed at examining how documentary evidence is created and articulated, starting from investigation, and how it is presented in court subject to the procedural conditions established under the law, particularly the Evidence Act.
Speaking on the topic, “Documentary Evidence and Admissibility”, Assistant Commander of the EFCC, ACE II Okoli Chidiebere Anosike of the Legal and Prosecution Department, Enugu Zonal Directorate, described a document, under Section 258 of the Evidence Act 2011 as any matter expressed or described upon by means of letters, figures, marks or by more than one of these means, intended for recording. This includes books, maps, photographs, discs, tapes, sound tracks, films and computer outputs.
According to Anosike, in every investigation, when a matter is brought before a court, there is a burden of proof that lies on the party bringing the case. “Whether you are an individual or an institution, you have the burden to establish the facts in issue. You do this primarily through oral testimony and documentary evidence”, he said.
While noting two main ways to prove a case which include oral testimony and documentary evidence, Anosike listed two categories of document, according to Sections 102 and 103 of the Evidence Act 2011, which include Public and Private Documents. He said that Public Documents are official acts of government emanating from official bodies and tribunals and records from public officers including legislature, judiciary and executive.
“Now, Private Documents are documents emanating from individuals, private companies or institutions not classified as public bodies. However, a private document can become a public document once it enters public custody. For instance, when a petition from a private individual is received, stamped and processed by a public institution, it becomes part of official records and assumes the character of a public document”, he said.
While discussing extrajudicial statements, the prosecutor said that an extrajudicial statement is one taken outside the presence of a judge or magistrate, during investigation. “Before taking such a statement, the suspect must be cautioned: ‘you have the right to remain silent, but anything you say may be taken down and used in evidence against you’ This ensures compliance with legal requirements and protects the voluntariness of the statement. That is why you see that whenever we are taking statements of a suspect, we must ensure that there is video recording and the presence of the suspect’s lawyer. This reduces the disputes about voluntariness and prevents trial within trial”, he said.
He thereafter listed conditions for admissibility of documents which he said must be pleaded in civil cases; must be relevant to the facts in issue; must be admissible under the law and proper foundation must be laid, especially for secondary or computer-generated evidence. “Primary evidence, that is, the original document is directly admissible and secondary evidence requires proper explanation and foundation. In criminal trials, documents are attached to the proof of evidence, allowing the defence to know the case against them. A document must relate directly to the charge, else, it will be rejected”, he said.
Earlier, while declaring the training open, the Zonal Director, EFCC Enugu Zonal Directorate, Commander of the EFCC, CE Daniel Isei, urged the officers to optimize the exposure that the training is bound to offer.
