THE trial of the immediate past Governor of Taraba State, Architect Darius Ishaku, and a former Permanent Secretary, Bello Yero, took a dramatic turn on Tuesday at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Maitama, with the first prosecution witness admitting that he did not know the total amount of money he allegedly collected on behalf of the former governor.
News Point Nigeria reports that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Ishaku and Yero before Justice Sylvanus Oriji on a 15-count charge marked FCT/HC/CR/792/2024. The charges border on criminal breach of trust, conspiracy, and conversion of public funds amounting to ₦27 billion.
Both defendants, however, pleaded not guilty.
The first prosecution witness, Ismail Oluwadamilare Lawal, who served as a personal assistant to Ishaku, told the court during cross-examination by defence counsel, Paul Ogbole, SAN, that while he collected earned allowances on behalf of his principal, he did not know the exact sums involved or the dates he received them.
“I collected the first defendant’s earned allowances and distributed them based on his instructions. But I don’t know the total amount I received on his behalf. I also don’t know the dates,” Lawal stated.
Lawal added that he, too, received allowances for his service, including ₦20,000 daily while traveling with the governor, in addition to his monthly salary of ₦130,000.
He also disclosed that he ran a poultry farm in Kubwa, Abuja, with about 6,000 birds at the time, which has since reduced to 2,000, valued at about ₦5 million.
The prosecution had earlier tendered a notebook kept by Lawal as evidence. Under cross-examination, the witness admitted that the entries in the notebook were neither government records nor bank records and that they were not countersigned by the officials who gave him money.
He clarified that the record was a private one, kept between himself and the governor.
He further explained that he was instructed by Ishaku to travel to Lagos, where he lodged in hotels at ₦20,000 per night, costing about ₦600,000 per month over a period of one year and seven months.
He acknowledged, however, that he did not tender any hotel receipts, as EFCC operatives seized some of his documents when he was arrested in Lagos.
Lawal confirmed that after his arrest, he was taken to the EFCC Lagos office before being transferred to Abuja on the same day, where he made statements to investigators.
Justice Oriji adjourned the matter until October 20 for the continuation of cross-examination of the witness.