An Abuja High Court has adjourned until November 11 the hearing of a motion filed by former Taraba State Governor, Darius Ishaku, contesting the court’s jurisdiction in a N27 billion fraud case against him.
Ishaku, alongside former Permanent Secretary of the Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Bello Yero, faces a 15-count charge brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The presiding judge, Justice Sylvanus Oriji, rescheduled the hearing after defense counsel presented preliminary objections.
Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, representing the prosecution, informed the court that the case was initially set for trial but was delayed by the defense’s last-minute motions challenging jurisdiction.
Lead defense counsel, P.H. Ogbole, explained that his team filed the motion after further review of the case.
“We were aware of today’s date, but our motion raises issues of jurisdiction which must be addressed,” Ogbole said.
The EFCC has charged Ishaku and Yero with misappropriating N1.01 billion and additional funds totaling N1.1 billion from the Bureau of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs between 2015 and 2019.
They allegedly redirected funds from contingency budgets and, at one point, used N761 million to cover a N1 billion loan from Zenith Bank Plc for Worthy Construction Limited.
Both defendants have pled not guilty and are currently out on bail, each granted bail at N150 million with two sureties, one of whom must be a federal director residing in the FCT.
Justice Oriji emphasized that the defendants must not leave the country without the court’s permission, while the EFCC pursues a case under Section 315 of the Penal Code, applicable in the Federal Capital Territory. The trial will resume on November 13.
