The trial of a former governor of Plateau State, Joshua Dariye, will resume tomorrow before Justice Adebukola Banjoko of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Abuja.
Dariye, who is presently the senator representing Plateau Central, is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on a 23-count charge bordering on money laundering and diversion of funds.
The senator is accused of diverting about N1.2 billion from the state’s Ecological Fund when he was governor of Plateau between 1999 and 2007, to private companies and individuals.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against him.
The trial, which commenced on July 13, 2007, suffered various setbacks as Mr. Dariye through his legal team, filed several motions to delay the trial.
However, the legal obstacles created by the former governor were cleared in February 2015 when the Supreme Court, in its judgment delivered on an appeal filed by Mr. Dariye, dismissed it for lack of merit and ordered the FCT High Court to commence expeditious trial of the accused.
Already, a number of prosecution witnesses have testified against him before Justice Adebukola Banjoko.
They include Musa Sunday, a detective with the EFCC, who said Dariye jumped the administrative bail granted him by the UK Metropolitan Police after his arrest and detention in 2004.
Mr. Sunday informed the court that the case was still pending in the UK.
It was learnt that investigating police officer (IPO), Detective Constable Peter Clark of the UK Metropolitan Police, will also be in Nigeria to testify against Dariye.
