The first prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of former Taraba State Governor, Darius Ishaku, has told a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court how he collected and disbursed large sums of money on the instruction of the former governor.
Testifying before Justice S.C. Oriji on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, the witness, Ismail Lawal, told the court that he received various amounts of money both in cash and bank transfers, and disbursed them at the directive of the ex-governor.
Ishaku, who is the first defendant in the case, is standing trial alongside Bello Yero, a former Permanent Secretary in the Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs. The duo are being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a 15-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust, conspiracy, and diversion of public funds amounting to N27 billion.
Under cross-examination by Ishaku’s counsel, P.H. Ogbole (SAN), Lawal said the instructions he received from the former governor were mostly verbal, though sometimes given via text messages or written notes.
“There were verbal instructions, sometimes he wrote on paper, and sometimes he sent text messages,” Lawal stated.
He confirmed that some of the money originated from the Taraba State Government House. He cited one instance where he collected N10 million from a liaison officer named Mr. Dauda on December 13, 2020 in Abuja.
Referring to Exhibit 3, Lawal detailed further payments he received, including N7 million from Mr. Emmanuel Ifun, Director of Finance at the Government House, on December 11, 2020. He went on to provide a breakdown from a hardcover notebook, where he recorded various cash receipts.
Some of the key entries included:
N50 million from the Permanent Secretary on December 20, 2020
N30 million and N15 million from the same official and liaison officer respectively on January 12, 2021
N20 million on January 27, 2021
N4 million and N13 million on January 30 and same day, 2022, respectively
N20 million, N6.5 million, and N14 million from Mr. Ifun between February 3 to 10, 2021
N30 million from Zenith Bank on February 10, 2021, which he said was transferred directly into his account.
Lawal told the court that he personally recorded all the transactions in the notebook, which he maintained exclusively between himself and the former governor.
“This record is strictly between me and His Excellency. Any money I received, I recorded it here. His Excellency verified the entries,” he said.
Justice Oriji adjourned the case to October 20, and further hearings on November 4 and November 6, 2025, for continuation of the trial.
