How Dariye shared Plateau’s N1.162b, court told

For about three hours yesterday, a witness in the trial of former Plateau State Governor Joshua Dariye gave details of how he allegedly shared to political associates, the N1.162 billion he obtained from the Ecological Fund in the name of the state.

Reeling out names and figures from documents submitted to the court, including Dariye’s statement made to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the witness, Musa Sunday, explained how Dariye allegedly shared the N1.162 billion he obtained in 2004 as a governor.

Dariye, who served between 1999 and 2007, is being prosecuted for allegedly diverting Plateau State’s funds while in office as governor.

Sunday, an investigator with the EFCC, was cross-examined by Dariye’s lawyer, Garba Pwul (SAN).

He said investigations by his team of investigators assigned to the Dariye case showed that the ex-governor gave N100 million to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who was then the coordinator of the Ecological Fund; N100m to Southwest PDP, which was received by then Minister of Special Duties, Yomi Edu, N80m to then permanent Secretary of the Ecological Fund agency in the Presidency, Kingsley Nkoma; N10m to former Deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu, N6.8m to PDP Plateau State and N66m to 274 PDP wards in the state.

Read More: The Nation