The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Tuesday
continued its case against a former Governor of Plateau
State, Joshua Dariye, with one of its detectives, Musa
Sunday, telling a Federal Capital Territory High Court in
Gudu how the former governor allegedly shared N1.162bn
belonging to the state.

Dariye, who is now the senator representing Plateau Central
Senatorial District in the Senate, allegedly obtained
N1.162bn ecological funds as Governor of Plateau State in
2004.

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

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

The detective who had earlier been led in evidence by the
lead prosecuting counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), under
cross-examination gave a breakdown of how Dariye
allegedly disbursed the N1.16bn to his political associates
and officials of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, in
Plateau State.

He said investigations by his team of detectives revealed
that the ex-governor gave N100m traced to a company –
Marine Float Nigeria Limited owned by former Vice-
President, Atiku Abubakar.

“The Ecological Fund Office is under the Presidency but the
Office of the Vice-President oversees it and the vice-
president chairs the agency’s activities. The vice-president at
that time was Alhaji Abubakar Atiku,” the witness said.
He also said N100m was traced to the South-West PDP,
which was received by then Minister of Special Duties, Yomi
Edu, N80m to then Permanent Secretary of the Ecological
Fund Office in the Presidency, Kingsley Nkoma; N10m to a
former Deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu, N6.8m to
the PDP Plateau State and N66m to 274 PDP wards in the
state.

Sunday, who is the first prosecution witness, read out the
portion of the statement made by Dariye to the EFCC where
he confirmed the distribution of the money among his
political associates in a statement he wrote to the EFCC in
July 2007.

When given Dariye’s statement to read, the witness read
from page 10 of the statement marked Exhibit P13(A) which
highlighted how Dariye gave a breakdown of how he
disbursed the N1.162bn received from the Ecological Fund
Office.

“In the course of investigation, Marine Float was found to be
a company owned by the former Vice-President, Alhaji
Abubakar Atiku. As at when the money was paid, the Vice-
President was the Chairman of Ecological Fund Office,” the
witness said. He denied knowledge whether the N100m was recovered from Atiku.

When Pwul suggested to the witness that the then President,
Olusegun Obasanjo, returned to Plateau State in 2004 the
N100m paid to the South-West PDP by Dariye, the witness
denied knowledge of such development.

He added that investigation into the issue revealed that
Dariye paid N80m to the then Permanent Secretary of the
Ecological Fund Office, Kingsley Nkoma, “for facilitating the
prompt release of N1.62bn ecological funds to the state.

“The N80m paid in favour of Union Savings and Loan, was
traced to Kingsley Nkoma, Permanent Secretary of Ecological Fund Office. We recovered the N80m from Nkoma, who said that was his share for facilitating the release of the money.

That was the bribe he collected.

“Investigation proved, while he was invited, that the N80m
paid to him through Union Savings and Loan was a bribe
money paid to him by the defendant. The money was
recovered from him. The N80m registered from Nkoma is
registered as exhibit and it is with the EFCC. When we invited him, Nkoma said that that was his share of the money and he was made to return it.”

The witness restated his earlier claim that Dariye made his
banker, All States Trust Bank (now defunct) to conceal his
identity.

He said their investigation revealed that the mandate card
for the account allegedly operated by a firm linked to Dariye
– Ebenezer Ritnan Venture – did not carry anybody’s
photograph as required.

He said they were able to uncover the company’s true
ownership by Dariye’s signature on the mandate form.
He said Dariye allegedly diverted his share of the N1.162bn
into the company’s account.

The witness said the bank and its officials, who claimed to
have granted Dariye waiver by not including his photograph
in the account opening documents, had since been
convicted by a Federal High Court in Kaduna for aiding
fraud.

The trial judge, Justice Adebukola Banjoko, adjourned
further hearing till noon on Wednesday (today).

Source:- http://www.punchng.com/how-dariye-shared-n1-162bn-to-atikus-firm-mantu-witness/