Alleged 27bn fraud: Court overrules ex-Taraba gov, Ishaku

A Federal Capital Territory (FCT), High Court, Maitama, on Wednesday overruled the objection raised by the former Taraba Governor, Darius Ishaku, on the admissibility of some documents.

Ishaku is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on behalf of the Federal Government, alongside Bello Yero, former permanent secretary, Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in the state.The defendants were charged with 15-count charge of criminal breach of trust, conspiracy and conversion of public funds to the tune of N27 billion.

They, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Earlier, Paul Ogbole SAN, counsel for Ishaku, had objected to a document (statement) that was to be tendered by the prosecution through the first prosecution witness (PW1).

Justice Slyvanius Oriji, however, overruled the objection by Paul Ogbole (SAN), Ishaku’s counsel for not meeting the required provisions of the law.

He held that the statement of the PW1 at the EFCC upon his arrest could not contravene the law because he was not the suspect or defendant in this case.

“The provisions of Sections 15(4) and 17(2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 were made by the legislature to complement Section 29(1) of the Evidence Act,” he held.

He wondered if the counsel would like to be granted trial-within-trial to ascertain the voluntariness of the statement.

“The objection is overruled and the statement received in evidence,’’ he stated