A prosecution witness, Ismail Lawal on Tuesday told an Abuja Federal High Court that Darius Ishaku, a former governor of Taraba state gave him $5,000 to relocate to Lagos and hide from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Ishaku and Bello Yero who served in his administration as permanent secretary, Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs are standing trial on a 15-count charge, bordering on criminal breach of trust, conspiracy and conversion of public funds to the tune of N27 billion.
Testifying in the court, Lawal said he was working as a system analyst in 2011 with Excelarc Partners, a company owned by Ishaku before he was called in 2012 to work as personal assistant to the former who was appointed minister of state for power.
Led in his evidence by the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs SAN, Lawal said that Ishaku gave him the $5,000 to relocate when he learned that the EFCC was investigating him.
The witness said when Ishaku became governor of Taraba in 2015, he invited him to work with him as a personal assistant.
“I was in charge of the former governor’s mails. I ran errands for him as well as collect money from the accounts section of the Government House in Jalingo and followed the governor’s instructions on what to do with the money” he said.
Lawal added that he was paid a monthly salary of N130,000 in cash by the former governor.
“I was informed that the EFCC needed me for questioning on June 12, 2021.
“I was ready to show up but I was later told by the former governor not to appear in the EFCC office. He said I should stay away.
“I was in Lagos for close to two years. I moved from one hotel to another. I don’t know how the EFCC officials traced my whereabouts to my hotel in Magodo, Lagos,” he said further.
Lawal said upon his arrest, he was transferred to Abuja from Lagos.
”I was shown a CCTV footage of how I collected money from the UBA branch at Jabi in Abuja and also shown my bank statement in Zenith Bank current and savings accounts,” he added.
The prosecution counsel tendered the statements of account of the witness, which were admitted by the court as exhibits, despite objections by the defence counsel
P.H.Ogbole, SAN (for Ishaku) and Adeila Adedipe SAN (for Yero)
Lawal told the court that each time money was paid into his account, he got a call from either the Permanent Secretary, Government House, Jalingo, Mr Chindo Audu or the Director of Finance, Mrs Lydia Galenya.
“They always tell me that they sent money meant for His Excellency and that I should withdraw and give it to him,” Lawal said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the presiding judge, Justice Sylvania Oriji adjourned the case until January 28 for the continuation of the hearing.
Credit: NAN
