A letter signed by former governor of Plateau State, Joshua Dariye requesting for funds to reclaim lands damaged by erosion and mining activities was admitted as exhibit yesterday by a Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting at Gudu, Abuja.
The former governor who now represents Plateau Central in the Senate is standing trial on
23 counts of criminal diversion of the N1.162b ecological funds meant for land reclamation and flood channelisation project in the Bokkos area of the state preferred against him by the EFCC.
The anti graft agency's second prosecution witness, an accountant in the Federal Civil Service, Mr. James Adewesu, mounted the witness box on Wednesday to give details of the processes leading to the release of the funds to Dariye, who he said personally collected the cheque for the N1.162b bn from the Ecological Fund Office at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja.
Adewesu who said he was serving in the accounts department of the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, where the account of the Ecological Fund was domiciled told the court that the cheque was released to Dariye following the approval of the state’s request by then former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, who was the chairman of the Ecological Fund Office.
The witness then read a letter signed by Dariye and titled
“SOS: An appeal for Federal Government’s assistance on reclamation of lands devastated by past mining activities in Plateau State.”
The court admitted the letter as exhibit.
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