I Was Instructed To Collect All Allowances Due To Ex-Governor Ishaku – Witness Says In Court

A prosecution witness, Ismail Lawal, told an Abuja High Court during the trial of former Taraba State Governor Darius Ishaku that he was directed to collect all allowances allocated to the defendant.

Ishaku and a former Permanent Secretary, Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in the state, Bello Yero, are charged with 15 counts bordering on criminal breach of trust, conspiracy and conversion of N27 billion public funds by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Lawal, the first Prosecution Witness (PW1), was a Personal Assistant to the former governor.

He told the court under cross-examination by Counsel for Ishaku, Paul Ogbole, SAN, that he knew was that as a sitting governor, the former governor was entitled to some allowances.

These allowances, he said, include travel, domestic staff, vehicle maintenance, medical, security and severance.

“I collected much of these allowances on his behalf. I don’t know how much was the security allowance.

“I don’t know the total amount of the allowances.

”As a law-abiding citizen, who has never been involved in any criminality, while working for the first defendant, I collected money on his (Ishaku’s) behalf as instructed,” he said.

He added that while working for the former governor, he was not under any compulsion and never did anything to undermine his principal or any institution.

Lawal said that he was in EFCC custody for 40 days because he failed to meet the bail conditions given to him by the commission after he was arrested in Lagos.