Ex-Gov Ishaku’s Aide Admits He Cannot Account for Cash Collected

Ex-Gov Ishaku’s Aide Admits He Cannot Account for Cash Collected

 

 

 

A prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of former Taraba State Governor, Darius Ishaku, told a Federal Capital Territory High Court on Tuesday that he was unable to account for the total amount of cash he collected on behalf of the ex-governor.

 

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Ishaku alongside Bello Yero, a former permanent secretary in the Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, on a 15-count charge that includes criminal breach of trust, conspiracy, and diversion of N27 billion.

 

Ismail Oluwadamilare Lawal, who served as Ishaku’s personal assistant, admitted under cross-examination by the prosecution that although he collected cash from the Government House in Jalingo for the former governor, he kept no official record of the total sums or the dates.

 

“I collected the first defendant’s earned allowances and distributed them according to his instructions, but I don’t know the total amount I received on his behalf. I also don’t know the dates,” Lawal told Justice Sylvanus Oriji.

 

Lawal further revealed that during his tenure with the former governor, he earned a monthly salary of N130,000, received N20,000 daily when travelling with the governor, and managed a poultry farm in Kubwa, Abuja. He said the poultry farm, initially stocked with 6,000 birds valued at about N5 million, now has 2,000 birds.

 

When shown a notebook previously tendered as evidence, Lawal acknowledged it was not an official record. “The entries were not countersigned by anyone I collected money from. The notebook was neither a government record nor a banking record. It was just for record-keeping between the former governor and me,” he stated.

 

Lawal also disclosed that he stayed in hotels in Lagos at the former governor’s instruction, paying N20,000 per day, amounting to N600,000 per month over a period of one year and seven months. He said hotel receipts were not tendered, as EFCC operatives had taken some documents, including receipts, during his arrest in Lagos.

 

The witness added that he was first taken to the EFCC office in Lagos before being transported to Abuja on the same day, where he made a statement to investigators.

 

Justice Oriji subsequently adjourned the case to October 20 for continuation of the cross-examination.