On Friday, the Plateau High Court in Jos discharged and acquitted former State Governor Jonah Jang of the 6.3 billion Naira corruption charges brought against him by the Commission of Financial Economic Crimes (EFCC).
The court also acquitted his co-defendant, a former cashier at the State Department of the Interior.
Mr. Jang, a sitting senator, and Yusuf Pam have been on trial since May 4, 2018.
The EFCC had charged them with 17 counts of misappropriation of state funds.
The judge, Christen Dabup, who pronounced the sentence, said that the court did not find Messrs. Jang and Pam guilty on any of the charges.
“The court did not find the defendants guilty of any of the charges and they are hereby acquitted and acquitted,” he said.
Reacting to the sentence, the defense attorney, Mike Ozekhome, who is a Senior Advocate for Nigeria (SAN), said the court found no merit in any of the 17 counts.
The Nigerian News Agency (NAN) reports that Mr. Ozekhome said that the EFCC charges were nothing but lies with no proof that the former military governor of Benue and old man Gongola diverted said money for personal use.
“So literally between May 4, 2018 and September 2 today, this man who meritoriously served the state has been going through a torturous and harrowing experience for about four and a half years of trials and tribulations.
“But today justice came out and the court discovered that the former governor did not steal a Kobo from the coffers of the Plateau Government.
“The court said that he did not find this man, either in his personal account, or in his office, or with his children, or with his wife, or with his relatives, or with his friends.
“So where was that phantom money you said this man stole?” she asked.
Ozokhome said there was no evidence that Jang stole the money which was a loan from the Central Bank of Nigeria taken by the Plateau government.
According to him, there was evidence that the money was used properly with all the heads of government validated by the Plateau State Assembly Chamber under an enabling and current law.
EFCC lawyer Oluwaleke Atolagbe said they had not yet received a copy of the ruling.
Mr. Atolagbe said that they would review the sentence and see if there were grounds for appeal.
‘EFCC appeals the ruling’
EFCC said in a statement later Friday that it has started the process to appeal against the acquittal.
The succinct statement signed by EFCC spokesperson Wilson Uwujaren reads: “The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has drawn attention to the ruling of Friday, September 2, 2022, by Judge CL Dabup of the State High Court of Plateau sitting in Jos, discharged and acquitted the former Governor of Plateau State, Senator Jonah David Jang, and the former cashier of the Office of the Secretary of State Government, OSSG, Yusuf Pam, of the seventeen charges bordering on breach of trust and misappropriation. of funds from Plateau State to the tune of N6.3 billion.
“The commission has started proceedings for an Appeal immediately.”