Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Chief Secretary Farley Augustine has denied any suggestion that he, or aides upon his instruction, forced or coerced alleged whistleblower Akil Abdullah into a confession about allegations of bribery and conspiracy.
In a statement on Wednesday, Augustine claimed there is irrefutable evidence of the several attempts made by Abdullah to have a meeting with him.
He said these requests came via WhatsApp messages, text messages and calls to the Office of the Chief Secretary, making the requests weeks before a meeting was eventually granted.
The Chief Secretary claimed the requests for meetings started since April 2023 and he only agreed to a meeting in July 2023.
He said: "The Chief Secretary confidently attests that there is more than sufficient evidence to refute any claim that Mr. Abdullah was forced to meet with him. This supposed audio recording currently in circulation, comes subsequent to newspaper articles where Mr Abdullah has said he felt threatened after his statements to the Chief Secretary were revealed in the House of Assembly. Moreover, this back and forth and inconsistencies, forces one to ask the most important question: How is it that the TTPS predicate their case on this witness?"
He continued: "Since the revelations made in the House of Assembly on July 19, 2023, and the revelation by the Prime Minister on July 20, 2023 that Mr. Abdullah was in fact the State Witness, the Chief Secretary has refused all attempts by Mr....
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