A witness in the case, Taiwo Johns, told the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja on Monday about how he received local government funds from Taraba State in his company’s account. He said he disbursed this money based on orders from officials at the Taraba State Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.
Johns spoke before trial judge Sylvanus Oriji in the N27 billion fraud case against former Taraba State Governor Darius Ishaku and former Permanent Secretary in the Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Bello Yero.
According to a statement from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, the EFCC is prosecuting Ishaku and Yero on 15 charges, including breach of trust, conspiracy, and misuse of public funds totaling N27 billion.
Both Ishaku and Yero have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Mr Johns was giving his testimony as the third witness for the prosecution. He began in April, but the trial was interrupted in May when Yero’s lawyer withdrew. The judge allowed time for Yero to find a new lawyer. The court then set the next hearing for 15 June (Monday).
Johns explained that he ran a company called P3 International, which he initially used for farming. He later joined the civil service as an assistant cashier at the Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in Taraba State, located in north-eastern Nigeria.
He stated that the EFCC discovered the funds in his company’s account during their investigation. He revealed that senior officials from the bureau, including John Columba, Babangida Hassan, and Bello Yero, asked him for his account details.
“They asked me to submit the account number so that some money would be sent to me and that I should await further instruction on what to do with the money,” Mr Johns said in court.
He mentioned that local government cashiers sometimes deposited money directly into his account. “Sometimes when money comes into this account, I will withdraw the money or leave it in the bank and wait for further instruction,” he said.
When asked about his actions after receiving money in his account, he said, “I reported to my chief cashier, John Columba, before I reported to Babangida Hassan and he reported to Bello Yero before I was given a directive on where to pay the money.”
Johns also explained that he received account numbers for transferring funds and was sometimes directed to deliver cash. He mentioned handing cash to a man named Lawal, who was said to be a personal assistant to the governor.
He said that instructions about the movement of funds came from Yero, Hassan, and other officials in the bureau. On 20 November 2017, he noted that N3 million was deposited into his account from local government funds and N2.25 million was later sent to Prince Emmanuel Onwuzuruike.
“These are the only three payments I am aware of in cash: N9 million, N8.5 million, and N5.8 million,” he said. He added that the total transfers on that day reached N5.25 million.
On 6 February 2018, he received N7.75 million and was told to transfer N6.25 million to Mr Onwuzuruike. He also said that on 11 April 2018, his account got N5 million, N1.7 million, and N1.8 million from local government funds.
He stated that part of this money was withdrawn as cash on the instruction of the Director of Finance, Babangida Hassan. He also mentioned that on 26 April 2018, his account received N4,767,386.41.
“On the same date, N4.78 million and N3.22 million were sent to Prince Onwuzuruike,” the witness said. Johns said that on 27 April 2018, he got N5.65 million and N4.5 million, after which he was told to transfer N4.78 million and N3.37 million to Onwuzuruike.
He confirmed that all transactions were based on instructions from senior officials of the bureau. The judge postponed the case until 7 July for the trial to continue.
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