A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory has found a former Taraba State Governor, Jolly Nyame, guilty of some counts in the charge of fraud brought against him.
Mr Nyame was charged on a 41-count for allegedly diverting N1.64 billion while he served as governor of the state between 1999 and 2007.
The prosecution, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, presented various witnesses who alluded to the fact that Mr Nyame approved the diversion of of various funds amounting to over N345 million to a company, Saman global, within five weeks in 2005, among other allegations.
Despite claims by Mr Nyame that he never knew the said company, the court found him guilty of breaching public trust after noting that the ex-governor confirmed approving the memo wherein the order for the transfer of the funds was made.
The court held that Mr Nyame is guilty of over half of the charges.
According to the judge, Adebukola Bankole, the actions of the perpetrators under the watch of the ex-governor can be likened to the story of Alibaba and the 40 thieves
The court is, however, yet to deliver it’s final verdict.
An application by the defendant for a no-case submission was dismissed in March after the judge ruled that Mr Nyame had good reason to enter his defence.
