A High Court sitting in Maitama, Federal Capital Territory, has granted bail to former Taraba State Governor, Darius Ishaku, following his arraignment on charges related to an alleged N27 billion fraud. The court set the bail at N150 million on Thursday, the same amount given to co-defendant Bello Yero, a former Permanent Secretary at the Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in Taraba State.
The two defendants are facing a 15-count charge brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). They are accused of conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, and unlawful conversion of public funds. The alleged fraud case, which centers around the misuse of over N1 billion from Taraba State’s contingency fund, has garnered significant public interest.
Both men were first arraigned on Monday, where they pleaded not guilty to the charges. Their defense teams, led by Paul Ogbole, SAN, and Oluwa Kayode, had immediately requested bail. Despite the EFCC’s lead counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, objecting to the oral bail application on procedural grounds, the court ultimately moved forward with the bail hearing during Thursday’s session. Justice Oriji, presiding over the case, granted the bail after the prosecution did not strongly oppose it.
The conditions for the bail include the provision of two sureties each, who must reside within the Federal Capital Territory. While the EFCC had initially expressed some reluctance over the bail, they did not formally challenge the request during the proceedings.
Ishaku and Yero were arrested by the EFCC on September 27, with allegations that they had diverted N1.138 billion from the contingency fund of the Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, using the funds for personal purposes during their time in office. The funds were said to have been misused between July 2015 and May 2019, a period during which Ishaku served as the governor of Taraba State, and Yero held his position as Permanent Secretary.
The charges against them state: “That you, Darius Dickson Ishaku, while being Governor of Taraba State, and you, Bello Yero, while being Permanent Secretary, Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Taraba State, between July 2015 and May 2019, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, dishonestly diverted an aggregate sum of N1,138,082,097.71, which formed part of the contingency fund of the Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Taraba State, to your personal use, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 315 of the Penal Code Act and punishable under the same Section.”
