Ecobank Robbery Accused Testify In Court

Under oath, Aristide Ndoumbe on June 25 refuted all the allegations against him. Rather than Monday June 24, it was the following day, Tuesday June 25 that the hearing of the Ecobank case continued.

This time around, the court launched the second phase of proceedings which involved the presentation of the accused and their witnesses before the bar.

When the court session resumed, the hearing started with the observation of legal procedures, which consisted of presenting the accused with the different options for their hearing. The first requires the concerned to testify without taking an oath; the second requires the accused to remain silent, irrespective of charges against him or her. The third choice referred the accused to testify under oath, which declarations will be subjected to scrutiny. All 13 persons involved accepted the third option, and thus had to take an oath before the bar.

The defence counsel led by Senior Barrister Agbor Ashu proceeded with their plan of action. The first person to testify was Aristide Ndoumbe. He is a Nigerian national, born and bred in the Bonaberi neighbourhood. A resident of Mabanda, the mechanic by profession has been working at the naval base since 1996. Prosecution charges accused Aristide Ndoumbe of masterminding the hold-up two years ago, which supposedly involved both Cameroonians and Nigerians. According to prosecution, his 16 years at the naval base gave him enough time to build a dubious relationship with the co-accused marine officers.

Under oath, Aristide Ndoumbe refuted all the claims against him. He told the court that on that fateful Friday March 18, 2011 night, he was at home. He added that he was simply informed about the incident through phone calls. 19 days later, he was taken into custody, which period was marked by severe torture from the gendarme officers. As a result, he confessed, he was forced to make false declarations implicating others in the affairs. But before court, Aristide Ndoumbe declared that all the information carried in the official report retained as exhibit, was forged by the gendarme officers. After the examination-in-chief and cross-examination, the case was adjourned to July 6, for the continuation of debates.