The trial of a former governor of Plateau State, Joshua Dariye, who is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on a 23-count charge bordering on money laundering and diversion of funds, continued on Tuesday with a statement he made in 2007 forming the focus of the day’s proceedings.
His trial before Justice Adebukola Banjoko of a Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court, Gudu, Abuja, commenced last Tuesday with the EFCC presenting exhibits, including the statement, as part of documents to prosecute the former governor for allegedly diverting N1.162 billion Ecological Fund meant for the state, to private companies and individuals.
In the statement, Mr. Dariye had acknowledged giving instruction to All States Trust Bank, (now defunct), on the disbursement of the said N1.162 billion fund, which had been released by the Office of the Ecological Fund and credited to the bank.
A document from the bank confirming the disbursement of the fund as instructed by Mr. Dariye was also presented in court.
In the document, the then state governor instructed that N250 million be paid to Pinnacle Communications Limited, PCL; N80 million to Union Savings & Loans; N550 million to the Plateau State government; N100 million to People’s Democratic Party, PDP, South-west; and N176,862,900 to Ebenezer Retnan Ventures, ERV.
Prosecution witness, Musa Sunday, who was cross-examined by G. S. Pwul, counsel to Mr. Dariye, told the court that the documents, including Mr. Dariye’s statement, were obtained in the course of investigations into the alleged diversion of the N1.162 billion Fund.
According to him, though during investigation the owner of PCL – a contractor with the state government confirmed the receipt for work done for the state, ERV was a company owned by the former governor, and actually got paid N160 million (instead of N176,862,900 as earlier instructed by Dariye) for no services rendered to the state government.
He told the court that during interrogation of Mr. Dariye, he admitted that the balance of about N16 million was shared between the then Deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Nasir Mantu, who got N10 million, and the remaining N6 million given to the PDP in the state.
Credit: PremiumTimes
