The first prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of the immediate past governor of Taraba State, Darius Ishaku and one other before Justice Sylvanus Oriji of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), sitting at Maitama, Abuja, Ismail Oluwadamilare Lawal, on Wednesday, told the court that he collected the former governor’s allowances on his behalf from Government House, Jalingo.
Ishaku and a former permanent secretary, Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in the state, Bello Yero, are facing 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 brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on behalf of the Federal Government.
The former governor and his co-defendant, however, pleaded not guilty.
At the resumed hearing in the case today, the EFCC witness, who was a personal assistant to Ishaku, told the court under cross examination by counsel for the former governor, Paul Ogbole SAN, that he was aware that as a sitting governor, Ishaku was entitled to some allowances, including travel, domestic staff, vehicle maintenance, medical, security and severance.
He said, “I collected many of these allowances on his behalf. I don’t know how much the security allowance.
“I collected on behalf of His Excellency (Ishaku) his allowances from Government House. I wouldn’t know the type of allowances I collected on his behalf.”
The EFCC witness said that though he did not know the total amount of the allowances he collected on behalf of Ishaku, he was, however, not surprised that the former governor was entitled to receive allowances.
He added that being a law-abiding citizen, who has never been involved in any criminality, while working for the first defendant, he only collected money on his (Ishaku’s) behalf based on instructions, adding that, “I would not have carried out any illegitimate assignments.
“The assignments I was given, I carried them out. As a governor, I know he (Ishaku) would not carry out illegitimate assignments.”
The EFCC witness told the court that he was neither a staff member of Taraba State government nor any of the local governments in the state, adding that while working for the former governor, he was not under any compulsion and never did anything to undermine his principal or any institution.
The PW1 informed that he was in EFCC custody for 40 days as a result of his inability to meet the bail conditions given to him by the commission after he was arrested in Lagos.
He said that he was shocked and thrown into confusion and panic when he was arrested by EFCC operatives.
Lawal further told the court that apart from the statement he made when he was arrested in Lagos in the presence of his friend, there were other statements he made to EFCC without his lawyer in attendance, adding that a lawyer, Nafisat Haliru Muhammed, was later present when he made other statements.
The EFCC witness said that the commission did not tell him that he would be a prosecution witness while he was in detention, but was told that the statements he made might be used against him in court.
When asked if he knew a company called Barrett Holdings, NAIJAONPOINT answered in the affirmative but told the court that he neither knew the particulars of the company’s directors or shareholders nor the relationship between Ishaku and the company.
He, however, confirmed that he had paid money into Barrett Holdings’ account a couple of times, saying that, “sometimes it was from part of his (Ishaku’s) allowances I collected from Government House. Sometimes he gave me cash to pay.”
NAIJAONPOINT also told the court that he operated an account with Fidelity Bank, which was being run by him and his father, adding that he made transfers to his family members from his Zenith Bank account.
Justice Oriji subsequently adjourned the case to September 30 for the continuation of cross-examination of the PW1.