An Ikeja High Court yesterday admitted a document in evidence against Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), Rabo Lawal, brought to it by the Lagos State Solicitor-General, Mr. Lawal Pedro in the on-going trial within trial (TWT) of late General Sani Abacha’s henchmen .

Lawal is the fourth defendant in the on-going trial case of attempted murder of The Guardian publisher, Mr. Alex Ibru in 1996 and the document admitted by the court was the statement he made to the Special Investigation Panel (SIP) in 1999, endorsed then by the prosecution witness, Mr. Ahmed Fari Yusuf, a Deputy Commissioner of Police (ACP) now serving in Imo State.

The presiding Judge, Justice Mufutau Olokoba in his ruling, said the objection of the counsel to Lawal, Mr. Olalekan Ojo, on whether or not the statement of his client was made voluntarily or not was not relevant and admitted the document as an exhibit.

According to him, the very denial that the document was signed by the fourth defendant then made it admissible but it was only irrelevant when it was sought to be tendered by the defendant which was based on the argument of the prosecution counsel.

Olokoba agreed with Pedro’s submission that the form was not an admission of the commission of a crime, stressing that its admissibility would not occasion the miscarriage of justice.

"This is not an admission of crime; it is auxiliary to the statement made by the defendant. It is not prejudicial to the case of defence and therefore, it is admissible," he said.

Before the ruling, Ojo submitted that his client did not sign the document voluntarily since there had been an adverse effect of a document on the defendant.

Justice Mufutau, however, adjourned the case to December 3 2008.

The TWT is to establish whether statements made by Yakubu and Lawal to the SIP being contested by the defence was voluntarily made after the court admitted the statement made by the second defendant, Al-Mustapha and the first defendant, Danbaba was rejected since it was not endorsed by the prosecution witness.

Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, former Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, alongside former Commissioner of Police, Mr. James Danbaba, ex-governor of Zamfara State, Mr. Jubrin Bala Yakubu and CSP Rabo Lawal are standing trial on a six- count charge of attempted murder of Mr. Ibru in which, they pleaded not guilty.