A Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja has granted bail to Darius Ishaku, the former governor of Taraba State, in the sum of N150 million. This ruling follows allegations of a N27 billion fraud charge brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In his ruling, Justice Sylvanus Oriji stipulated that Ishaku must present two sureties, each with a value equivalent to the bail amount. One of the sureties must be a federal government employee holding a Director position. Additionally, both sureties must reside in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with their residential addresses verified by the Court Registrar.
The court has also prohibited Ishaku and his co-defendant, Bello Yero, from traveling outside the country without prior permission from the court. Following the bail application ruling, which was unopposed by the prosecution counsel, Justice Oriji set trial dates for November 4, 5, and 13.
EFCC counsel Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) informed the court that the agency had previously granted Ishaku administrative bail, which he did not violate, thus leading to the decision not to oppose the current bail application.
Ishaku completed his tenure as governor in 2023 after eight years in office. Upon leaving office, he faced 15 counts of fraud brought against him by the EFCC, to which he pleaded not guilty during his arraignment on Monday.
The charges, marked CR/792/24 and dated September 27, accuse Ishaku and Yero of diverting N1,010,000,000 for personal use between August 25, 2015, and March 21, 2016, in Abuja. This sum is alleged to have been part of the 2.5 percent contingency funds belonging to the Bureau of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.
Furthermore, the EFCC claims the defendants diverted an aggregate of N1,138,082,097.71 from the same contingency fund between July 2015 and May 2019. They are also accused of diverting N761,301,000 to repay a loan of N1 billion from Zenith Bank Plc for their company, Worthy Construction Limited, between September 3, 2015, and January 29, 2018.
The charge sheet states that while in their respective capacities, Ishaku and Yero misappropriated N3,348,942,411.15, which was meant for the Bureau of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, and local councils in Taraba State, committing criminal breach of trust. Additional amounts allegedly diverted by the defendants include N650,686,369.99, N193,030,000, and N170,549,842.00 during various periods from 2019 to 2021.
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