N27bn Fraud Trial: Stir as defence asks prosecution witness if he wants ex-governor convicted

Former Taraba State Governor Darius Ishaku’s defence team in his corruption trial caused a stir at the FCT High Court in Abuja on Wednesday, after asking a prosecution witness if he would like the former governor to be convicted.

Ismail Lawal, the first prosecution witness in the N27 billion fraud case against Mr Ishaku, previously worked for the former governor’s private business and later served as his personal assistant during his governorship.

Mr Ishaku’s lead defence lawyer, P.H. Ogbole, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, put the question across to the prosecution witness seated face to face with his former benefactor during a cross-examination session at Wednesday’s proceedings.

The question appeared to be aimed at challenging Mr Lawal’s perceived impartiality, which the defence suggested might have been compromised during his 40-day detention in custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Among such other questions, Mr Ogbole asked the witness if EFCC made suggestions to him during his detention period. The witness’ response was negative.

The defence lawyer then steered the questioning towards the prosecution’s goal. “You want the first defendant convicted?” Mr Ogbole asked the witness.

The question stirred the courtroom to an expectant mode in anticipation of what the witness’ response would be.

But before Mr Lawal could give an answer, the prosecution lawyer, Rotimi Jacobs, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), jumped to his feet, objecting to the line of questioning.

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“It is not a question for the witness to answer,” Mr Jacobs said.

Trial judge, Slyvannus Oriji, sustained the objection, preventing the witness from answering the question.

Spared by the judge from commenting on whether Mr Ishaku should be convicted, Mr Lawal continued facing a barrage of cross-examination questions that challenged his loyalty to his former beneficiary and his duty to testify with full candour for the prosecution.

The EFCC is prosecuting Mr Ishaku alongside a former permanent secretary, Taraba State Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Bello Yero, on 15 counts of criminal breach of trust, conspiracy and conversion of public funds to the tune of N27 billion.

The prosecution accused the defendants of diverting 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.

Mr Lawal is the first prosecution witness who began testifying in January.

At previous proceedings, Mr Lawal, whose testimony appears to be crucial to the prosecution’s case, told the court that he worked as a system analyst in 2011 with Excelarc Partners, a company owned by the former governor of Taraba State.

He said when Mr Ishaku became a governor in 2015, he invited him to work as his assistant.

He had told the court that he collected and distributed various funds, ranging from N20 million to N100 million on behalf of Mr Ishaku.

Money distribution errands

Mr Ogbole repeatedly asked the witness if the tasks of distributing money to people assigned to him by the former governor were legitimate.

“I believe so,” he said on one occasion responding to the defence lawyer.

Another time when he was asked, he explained that he had no knowledge of communication between the former governor and the people he was sent to give money or what the money was meant for.

“I have no knowledge of what is going on in the offices or the communication between His Excellency. My own is to follow instructions on what to do, I don’t know what the money is meant for,” he said.

When pressed the third time to clarify if he would have carried out unlawful assignments on behalf of the former governor, he replied, “The assignments were given, and I carried out the task… I don’t believe he, as the governor, was sending me to carry out illegitimate assignments.”

When asked if he knew the source of the money he collected, he said, “Sometimes I believe it is his allowance I am asked to collect and pay into the account.”

But he said he could not ascertain the exact amount or type of allowances he collected on behalf of the governor. But he said he was aware that the former governor was entitled to domestic, transport, medical, security, and vehicle maintenance allowances.

Mr Lawal told the court that he received both verbal and written instructions from Mr Ishaku on what to do with the money he was given. Some of the instructions are written in his notebook which was previously tendered in as evidence.

The witness said he was not a staff member of the Taraba State Government, nor was he involved in managing the state’s finances.

In June, the witness led by the prosecution counsel identified names of individuals involved in the exchange of cash directed by Mr Ishaku.

I spent 40 days in detention, but had no prior knowledge of becoming prosecution witness

The witness denied having prior knowledge of any plan to make him a prosecution witness in the case. He told the court that he became aware after reading the news that Mr Ishaku was invited by the EFCC.

“I was not informed that I will be a witness until I read the matter in a newspaper that His Excellency (Mr Ishaku) had gone to the EFCC and I discovered my name in it…after I read it, I was called upon to the EFCC office and they told me I would be a witness.”

Mr Lawal said he was detained by the EFCC for 40 days. He said although he was granted bail after his first two or three days of detention, he could not meet the bail conditions, which kept him in detention for 40 days.

He also noted that he had written about three of his statements in the presence of his friend but without a legal representative or video recording.

‘Former governor asked me to relocate to Lagos’

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the witness in January 2025, narrated how Mr Ishaku allegedly gave him $5,000 to relocate to Lagos to evade EFCC arrest.

Repeating the claim on Wednesday, Mr Lawal said, “I was invited to come to the EFCC and was planning to go before His Excellency asked me to stay out.”

He continued, “When he asked me to go, I asked how long and he said six months, but people have gone ahead of me and have given statements against me that they gave me money, so if the EFCC asked me to come and I did not come at that time, meaning they may be suspecting that I took the money.”

The case was adjourned to 30 September for the continuation of cross-examination.