Former Governor of Taraba State, Darius Ishaku, has been granted bail in the sum of ₦150 million by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in a case involving alleged fraud amounting to ₦27 billion, Okay.ng reports.
On Thursday, Justice Sylvanus Oriji granted Ishaku bail with two sureties in the same amount. One of the sureties must be a Federal Government employee of at least the rank of Director, and both sureties must reside in the FCT, with their residential addresses verified by the Court Registrar.
As part of the bail conditions, Ishaku and his co-defendant, Bello Yero, the former Permanent Secretary of the Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, are barred from leaving the country without court approval.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), represented by counsel Rotimi Jacobs, did not oppose the bail request, noting that the former governor had previously been granted administrative bail by the agency and had not violated its terms.
Justice Oriji set November 4, 5, and 13 as the dates for the trial to commence.
Ishaku, who served as governor from 2015 to 2023, faces 15 counts of fraud-related charges, which he denied during his arraignment earlier this week.
According to the charge sheet dated September 27, both Ishaku and Yero are accused of diverting over ₦1 billion from the Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs between 2015 and 2016.
The EFCC alleged that the defendants used the funds for personal purposes, in violation of Section 315 of the Penal Code A, Cap 532 of the FCT laws, which deals with criminal breach of trust.
Further charges include the alleged diversion of ₦1.1 billion between July 2015 and May 2019, and ₦761 million used to settle a loan obtained from Zenith Bank Plc.
Additional sums totaling several billion naira, including ₦3.3 billion, ₦650 million, ₦193 million, and ₦170 million, were also allegedly misappropriated during Ishaku’s tenure as governor.
