A prosecution witness on Tuesday testified before the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, detailing how he collected and disbursed billions of naira allegedly on the instructions of former Taraba State Governor, Darius Ishaku.
The witness, Ismail Lawal, appeared as the first prosecution witness (PW1) in the ongoing trial of Ishaku and a former Permanent Secretary in the Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Bello Yero.
The two are being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a 15-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust, conspiracy, and the alleged diversion of N27 billion in public funds.
Testifying before Justice S.C. Oriji, Lawal described how he received large sums of money in cash and through bank transfers, allegedly acting on directives from the former governor.
“Sometimes the instructions were verbal, other times they came via text messages or were written on paper,” Lawal said while being cross-examined by defense counsel, P.H. Ogbole (SAN).
He told the court that funds were frequently collected from various government officials and offices.
Citing specific instances, Lawal noted that he received N10 million on December 13, 2020, from a liaison officer, Mr. Dauda, in Abuja, and N7 million on December 11, 2020, from Mr. Emmanuel Ifun, Director of Finance at the Taraba State Government House.
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Referring to entries in his personal notebook, which he described as a “private record” between him and the former governor, Lawal gave a detailed breakdown of other disbursements, including, N50 million collected from the permanent secretary on December 20, 2020, N30 million from the same official on January 12, 2021, N15 million from the liaison officer on the same day, N20 million on January 27, 2021, from the permanent secretary, multiple transfers and cash payments from Mr. Ifun in 2021 and 2022, ranging from N4 million to N30 million
He also confirmed receiving N30 million from Zenith Bank on February 10, 2021, which was deposited into his personal account.
“All these transactions were recorded by me. This record is strictly between me and His Excellency,” Lawal told the court.
“I kept the record, and His Excellency verified it.”
Justice Oriji adjourned the case to October 20, November 4, and November 6, 2025, for the continuation of the trial.
