The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has filed 15 charges against Darius Ishaku, the former governor of Taraba State, accusing him of being involved in a massive fraud case. The EFCC alleges that Ishaku, along with a co-defendant, Bello Yero, misappropriated a total of N27 billion during his time in office.
The EFCC arrested the ex-governor early on Friday at his residence in Abuja, following months of investigation. The charges against Ishaku and Yero, a former Permanent Secretary of the Taraba State Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, were officially presented to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja on Thursday.
The charges detail various incidents of financial misconduct, beginning from 2015 and stretching until 2021. The first two counts allege that between August 2015 and March 2016, Ishaku and Yero illegally took N1.1 billion for their personal benefit. The third and fourth counts accuse them of dishonestly diverting another N1.1 billion from the state’s coffers.
Further accusations involve the misappropriation of N193 million between January 2019 and April 2021, as outlined in count five. In count six, the EFCC alleges that N650 million was misappropriated by the defendants over a similar time frame, specifically from January 2019 to April 2021.
Other counts present a pattern of alleged misconduct, including the diversion of N170 million, N201.9 million, and N132.1 million between January 2019 and April 2021. In counts 10 and 11, the EFCC accuses Ishaku and Yero of misappropriating a staggering N3.3 billion and an additional N639.4 million between July 2019 and February 2021.
The charges continue with accusations of a further N993 million misappropriated from September 2016 to February 2021. Count 13 mentions the misuse of N90 million between May and December 2015.
Lastly, Ishaku faces two charges alone, where it is alleged that he misappropriated N23 million and N761.3 million from October 2016 to January 2018.
