A prosecution witness at the FCT High Court, Abuja, on Monday provided details of how he allegedly received funds from some local governments of Taraba State, some individuals and a company associated with Taraba State Government or its officials during the administration of former Governor Darius Ishaku.
Prince Onwuzunike appeared before the court as the second prosecution witness in the corruption trial of Governor Ishaku and Bello Yero, who was Permanent Secretary, Taraba State Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs during Mr Ishaku’s reign as governor. Mr Ishaku was the governor of the north-eastern state from 2015 to 2023.
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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting both of them on 15 counts of criminal breach of trust, conspiracy, and fraudulent conversion of N27 billion belonging to Taraba State. Mr
According to the EFCC, the two defendants diverted the money from the contingency funds belonging to the state’s Bureau of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and certain local governments of the states into their private use. They both denied EFCC’s allegations.
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Continuing his testimony from December 2025, Mr Onwuzunike told the court on Monday that he received millions of naira from Gashaka and Yorro local government areas (LGAs), P3 Cornerstone, Taiwo Jones, and John Columba between 2017 and 2019 through his account, which was domiciled in Zenith Bank.
He earlier informed the court of how he became involved in the transactions due to his personal relationship with Mr Yero, explaining that he started receiving money on his behalf after being told to expect a money transfer alert from one Taiwo Jones.
The witness, who was led in evidence by prosecution lawyer Rotimi Jacos, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), testified that following the credit entries, he made cash withdrawals and delivered the funds to Ismail Lawal, the first prosecution witness and Mr Ishaku’s former personal assistant.
Details of transactions
Mr Onwuzunike detailed how he allegedly received multiple payments from various Taraba State LGAs, including Ardo Kola, Gassol, and Yorro, on behalf of Mr Yero from 2019 to 2020.
His Monday’s testimony focused on the money he received from Mr Jones and P3 Cornerstone, which he previously said belonged to Mr Jones.
“I received N4 million from Taiwo Jones on 6 November 2017, N10 million, N9 million, N9million, N9 million and N4.3 million on 10 November 2017. It was withdrawn in cash and given to Mr Lawal,” he said.
On 6 February 2018, Mr Onwuzunike said he received two credit entries amounting to N14million from P3 Cornerstone and N6.6million from Mr Jones. He then withdrew over N20 million and handed it to Mr Lawal.
There were similar entries and withdrawals in April, May, September and November 2018.
On 4 April 2019, Mr Onwuzunike said he received N16 million from Mr Columba and N10.7 million from Mr Jones.
He also withdrew over N50 million, which he handed to Mr Lawal. However, Mr Columba’s relationship with the case is unclear at this stage of the trial.
There were also other entries from P3 Cornerstone in April 2019. Then in July 2019, the witness said he received N25 million from Gashaka LGA and N28.5million from Yorro LGA.
Mr Onwuzunike informed the court that, in 2016, he received lesser sums from Mr Jones. “The small sums were sent to me to buy things for the message he (Mr Jones) sent me,” while other credits that were not linked to Taraba State or individuals already mentioned, “those ones are for my business.”
After his testimony, the trial judge, Slyvannus Orji, adjourned until 10 February for cross-examination.
First witness’ testimony
The first prosecution witness, Mr Lawal who took the stand before Mr Onwuzunike, had similarly shared details of the funds he allegedly received and distributed to people on behalf of Mr Ishaku.
Mr Lawal previously worked for the former Governor Ishaku’s private business and later served as his personal assistant during his governorship.
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He admitted collecting money on behalf of the then-governor from Mr Yero, the second defendant.
Mr Lawal said he also took money from Emmanuel Ifun, a recurring name in his testimony, who he identified as the Director of Finance, Government House.
During a cross-examination session in November by Mr Ishaku’s lawyer, Eko Ejembi, also a SAN, the witness testified on the purposes of the transfers recorded in his notebook. “Some are for security, while some are also for other people,” he said.
When he was referred to some pages of the notebook, which was earlier admitted as an exhibit, he said there were details of transfers to the State Security Service (SSS), the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Permanent Secretary, the Inspector General of Police, NASA, and SA Security Southern Zone.
He confirmed that his bank statement and personal record showing the funds receipts from Taraba State Government officials and distribution to various beneficiaries did not feature former Governor Ishaku’s name. Instead, the witness said, the name of the former governor’s company, Worthy Construction Limited, appeared on the document.
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