Abuja: A prosecution witness on Tuesday told an Abuja High Court that the name of the former governor of Taraba, Darius Ishaku, was not mentioned in the “transaction details.”
The witness, Ismail Lawal, a former personal assistant to Ishaku, gave the details during cross-examination in the trial of the former governor.
“The first defendant’s ( Ishaku) name did not appear on the account statement, but there was a transaction to Worthy Construction Limited.“
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting the former governor alongside Bello Yero, a retired Permanent Secretary of the state’s Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.
They are charged with a 15-count charge, marked FCT/HC/CR/792/2024, bordering on criminal breach of trust, conspiracy, and conversion of public funds to the tune of N27 billion.
The former governor and his co-defendant, however, pleaded not guilty.
The EFCC accused the defendants of criminal breach of trust, conspiracy, and fraudulent conversion of public funds to the tune of N27 billion.
The prosecution alleged that they diverted money from the contingency funds belonging to the state’s Bureau of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, as well as certain local governments in the states, into their own private use.
In Count 15 of the charge, the EFCC alleged that the former governor diverted money from the state coffers to his company, Worthy Construction Limited, as mentioned by the witness.
Being cross-examined by Ishaku’s counsel, Mr Eko Ejembi, SAN, on the transfer for security purposes, the witness noted that the transfers recorded in his notebook, submitted as Exhibit, showed that some money was for security purposes.
When asked to review some pages in the notebook, he stated that they contained details of transfers to the DSS, NDLEA, Civil Defence, Permanent Secretary, IGP, NASA, and SA Security Southern Zone.
Responding to a question on whether the money was for security purposes, he said, “Some are for security while some are also to other people,” referring to the entire entries in the notebook.
Justice Slyvanius Orij, at that point, adjourned the proceeding until Thursday for the continuation of the witness’s cross-examination.