A Taraba State Government official, Taiwo Jones, has told the FCT High Court in Abuja that millions of naira transferred from his company’s account to several beneficiaries during former Governor Darius Ishaku’s administration were official payments authorised by the then Permanent Secretary, Bello Yero. The testimony came during cross-examination by Ishaku’s defence counsel.
ABUJA, NIGERIA
A Taraba State Government official, Taiwo Jones, on Monday told the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja, that all financial transfers he facilitated during the administration of former Taraba State Governor, Darius Ishaku, were official transactions carried out on the instructions of the then Permanent Secretary, Bello Yero.
Jones, who has been testifying in the ongoing trial involving Mr Ishaku and Mr Yero since June, maintained that the payments made through his company’s bank account were authorised government transactions and not personal or unauthorised financial dealings.
His testimony came during cross-examination by Chris Umar, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and counsel to the former governor.
The proceedings focused on several financial transactions involving millions of naira transferred to different beneficiaries during the period under investigation.
WITNESS REAFFIRMS OFFICIAL NATURE OF TRANSACTIONS
During the cross-examination, Mr Umar asked Jones to read a statement he had previously made to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) concerning the transactions.
Reading from the statement, the witness said:
“All the payments being done by myself and John Columba are official payments approved by the then-Permanent Secretary.”
Mr Umar subsequently asked him to read the statement three times, drawing particular attention to the expression “official payments”.
The repeated reading appeared intended to emphasise the witness’s earlier position that the transactions were undertaken with official approval rather than on his personal initiative.
When asked whether other individuals apart from Prince Emmanuel benefited from the transactions, Jones answered in the affirmative.
He confirmed that several payments were made to different beneficiaries through his company’s account but insisted that he acted strictly on the directives given to him.
COURT HEARS DETAILS OF MILLIONS OF NAIRA IN TRANSFERS
The court also heard details of several transactions carried out between 2018 and 2019, involving substantial sums of money transferred to Ibrahim Saleh and Prince Emmanuel.
According to the evidence presented by the witness, Ibrahim Saleh received multiple transfers on October 3, 2018.
The transactions included N7.5 million, N8 million, N2 million and another N8 million.
On March 1, 2019, Saleh reportedly received four additional transfers comprising N5 million, N1 million, N6 million and another N1 million.
Similarly, Prince Emmanuel received four separate payments on August 9, 2019, amounting to N10 million, N9 million, N5 million and N10 million respectively.
Further transactions were also recorded on August 20, although the witness’s testimony indicated that both Saleh and Emmanuel received N7 million, while Jones also made a cheque withdrawal of N8.7 million.
The transactions formed part of the financial dealings examined during the ongoing proceedings.
WITNESS UNABLE TO RECALL TOTAL AMOUNT TRANSFERRED
When Mr Umar asked Jones to calculate the cumulative amount of money transferred to the various beneficiaries based on the directives he received, the witness said he could not remember the total.
He attributed his inability to provide an exact figure to the volume of transactions handled during the period.
“I cannot recall because of the volume of the transactions,” he told the court.
The defence counsel also questioned whether Jones had ever reported the transactions to law enforcement agencies, particularly the police or the EFCC.
The witness answered in the negative, explaining that he saw no reason to report the payments because he did not consider anything about the transactions to be wrong.
His response further reinforced his position that the transfers were conducted as part of official assignments authorised by the then Permanent Secretary.
DEFENCE CROSS-EXAMINATION FOCUSES ON AUTHORISATION
The cross-examination placed considerable emphasis on the authority behind the financial transactions, the identities of the beneficiaries and the witness’s knowledge of the payments.
By referring to Jones’s earlier statement to the EFCC, Mr Ishaku’s counsel sought to establish the witness’s position regarding the official nature of the transfers.
Jones consistently maintained that he acted on instructions and that the payments were not independently initiated by him.
However, the financial transactions and the circumstances surrounding their authorisation remain matters for consideration in the ongoing trial.
The court is expected to continue examining the evidence as proceedings progress.
TIMELINE OF KEY FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS
The transactions highlighted during Monday’s proceedings included:
October 3, 2018: Ibrahim Saleh reportedly received four transfers of N7.5 million, N8 million, N2 million and N8 million.
March 1, 2019: Saleh received four additional payments of N5 million, N1 million, N6 million and N1 million.
August 9, 2019: Prince Emmanuel reportedly received four transfers of N10 million, N9 million, N5 million and N10 million.
August 20, 2019: Saleh and Emmanuel reportedly received N7 million each, while Jones made a cheque withdrawal of N8.7 million.
Monday’s court proceedings: Jones reaffirmed that the transactions were official payments approved by the then Permanent Secretary, Bello Yero.
COURT ADJOURNS PROCEEDINGS
Following the cross-examination, the presiding judge adjourned the matter until November 5 for continuation of the trial.
The adjournment provides an opportunity for the court to resume consideration of the evidence and further proceedings in the case involving the former Taraba State governor and the former Permanent Secretary.
CONCLUSION
Monday’s proceedings brought renewed attention to the financial transactions undertaken during the administration of former Taraba State Governor Darius Ishaku, particularly the movement of government-related funds through a private company’s bank account.
While witness Taiwo Jones maintained that the transfers were official payments authorised by the then Permanent Secretary, his inability to recall the cumulative amount involved and his confirmation that he never reported the transactions to law enforcement agencies featured prominently in the defence’s cross-examination.
The substantive issues surrounding the transactions, including their authorisation, purpose and accountability, remain subject to judicial determination.
The case is expected to continue on November 5.
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