EFCC Arrests Ex-Taraba Gov Over N27bn Fraud

A former Governor of Taraba State, Darius Ishaku, has been arrested and charged him with misappropriation of more than N27 billion belonging to the state government by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

EFCC slams 15 counts against Ishaku and a co-defendant at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja on Thursday.

The co-defendant is a former Permanent Secretary of the Taraba State Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Bello Yero.

Ishaku and Yero were alleged to have diverted billions of naira from the contingency funds belonging to the state’s Bureau of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and certain local governments of the states into their private uses. The total amounts allegedly diverted summed up to N27 billion.

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The commission alleged that the defendants committed the offences of criminal breach of trust and misappropriation while Mr Ishaku served as governor from 2015 to May 2023. At the time, Mr Yero was also said to be the Permanent Secretary of the state’s Bureau of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.

The spokesperson for the anti-graft agency, Dele Oyewale, when contacted, said, “Yes, former Governor Ishaku is in our custody.”

Before becoming governor in 2015, Ishaku, 70 years old, was at various times the supervising minister for power, supervising minister for environment and the Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs.