The trial of former Taraba State Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku, Bello Yero, a former Permanent Secretary, and others has taken a new turn. Taiwo Johns, the third prosecution witness, testified before Justice S.C. Oriji at the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja. Johns shared details about how funds meant for local governments were diverted and sent to government officials. The case involves an alleged N27 billion fraud.
According to Johns, various amounts of money, believed to be federal government grants, were moved from local governments into his company’s account, P3 Cornerstone. He informed officials from the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs about the transactions. On several occasions, they instructed him to either withdraw cash or transfer it to specific accounts. Johns mentioned a transaction where Yoro Local Government deposited N50 million into P3 Cornerstone’s account on October 11, 2019.
Johns stated that he reported the transaction to the Permanent Secretary, who asked him to withdraw the money. He handed the cash to the Permanent Secretary and Dare Lawal. Another transaction involved N58.5 million deposited into P3 Cornerstone’s account. Johns reported this to the Permanent Secretary and Babangida Hassan, the Director of Finance. He also shared details about a cheque for N64.95 million from Gassol Local Government, dated November 5, 2019.
The witness discussed transactions related to Ardo Kola and Gassol local governments. He mentioned a manager’s cheque of N55 million from Ardo Kola Local Government on November 28, 2019, and N62 million from Gassol Local Government on the same date. Johns said that N50 million from the Gassol transaction was withdrawn and given to the Permanent Secretary, while N5.6 million was transferred to someone named Prince.
Johns continued his testimony, referring to Exhibit 9, which described another transaction involving Gassol Local Government on December 2, 2019. He stated that N17,378,542 and N13,120,051 were deposited into P3 Cornerstone’s account. He informed Babangida Hassan about the transaction, who instructed him to withdraw the total amount of N30,498,593. Johns handed the money over to the Director of Finance and Dare Lawal.
The witness also discussed transactions that took place in March and September 2020. He reported deposits of N11.35 million, N75 million, and N2,500,036.25 into P3 Cornerstone’s account on March 23, 2020. Additionally, he noted deposits of N20,470,036.25 and N1,500,036.25 on March 24, 2020. Johns further explained that on September 14, 2020, P3 Cornerstone received N39,999,300.45 from one source and another N39,999,500 from Zing Local Government.
After Johns’ testimony, prosecution lawyer Rotimi Jacobs presented more documents to the court, which were accepted as evidence and labeled as Exhibits 13, 14, and 15. Justice Oriji postponed the case until October 6, 2026, for further testimony from PW3. The trial is ongoing, with Ishaku and others facing allegations of diverting funds meant for local governments.
Key points
- - Darius Ishaku, former Taraba State Governor, faces allegations of N27 billion fraud. - Witness Taiwo Johns detailed how funds were transferred to officials. - The trial is ongoing at the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja.
