Court Grants Ex-Taraba Gov. Darius Ishaku Permission To Travel for Medical Treatment

The court, in a ruling that was delivered by Justice Sylvanus Oriji, granted an application the defendant filed to be allowed to visit Arjam, United Arab Emirates, UAE, for his routine medical check up.

The defendant, who is facing a 15-count charge, had through his lawyer, Mr. Paul Ogbole, SAN, predicated his application on Sections 6 (6) and 41 (1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

Ogbole, SAN, told the court that his client’s health had badly deteriorated.

However, EFCC’s lawyer, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, opposed the application on the premise that the defendant did not specify the duration of his stay in UAE.

Ruling on the matter, Justice Oriji noted that part of the bail conditions that was given to the defendant was that he must not travel outside the country without the permission of the court.

The trial judge held that the application by the defendant met the requirement the court stipulated for him.

Consequently, he granted the application and adjourned the matter till March 17 for continuation of hearing.

The former governor is facing trial on charges bordering on money laundering, criminal breach of trust, conspiracy and conversion of public funds to the tune of N27 billion.

Earlier in the proceedings, the EFCC, through the fifth witness, PW-5, Ismail Lawal, tendered some exhibits in evidence, among which included two notebooks with 11 pieces of paper.

Lawal, who is a former personal assistant to the former governor, told the court that he usually receive cash from different people on the instruction of the defendant.

According to him, such people included the Permanent Secretary, Government House, Jalingo, Mr Chindo Audu; Mr Galiya Lodiya; the Taraba State Liaison Officer in Abuja, Mr Dauda and a brother to his principal, Mr Victor Comlavi, who he said was not an employee of the state government.

“There are other people I got money from, depending on who his Excellency instructed me to meet,” NAIJAONPOINT added.

Reading from one of the notebooks admitted by the court and marked as Exhibit 3, the PW5 informed the court that he paid various sums of money as approved by his principal to different people either in cash or through bank accounts.

“There was no complaint that I did not pay anyone. After I made payments, they (recipients) must call his Excellency to confirm payment.

“On the face of the write up, his Excellency usually crossed it and write date. This means that he is satisfied with what I have done,” Lawal added.

More so, he told the court that apart of his entry of December 5, 2020, in Exhibit 3, on the directive of the former governor, he paid salaries of personal staff of his principal as well as the gatemen of Ishaku’s house in Takum, as well as the electricity bill of the house.

“There is Bigman Wukari (N100,000); Musa Siman (100,000); Mr Lar (75,000); Obadiah Danjuma (150,000); Balat Bunkaya (N50,000); Adams Ibrahim (N75,000); Lawal Ismail, myself, (N100,000). These seven are His Excellency’s personal staff.

“There is also salary of Takum gatemen (N25,000). The salary of Takum is the gatemen of His Excellency’s house in Takum. There is also Takum NEPA bill (N25,000). This is the bill for His Excellency’s house in Takum. There is another one for Takum campaign office staff (N15,000),” he told the court.

,The court had earlier granted the defendant bail to the tune of N150m.