Paul Erokoro, counsel to Danjuma
Goje, a former governor of Gombe state,
says it is not surprising that the attorney-general of the federation (AGF)
dropped charges against his client.
Goje alongside Aliyu El-Nafaty,
chairman of the state’s Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), stood trial
over an alleged N5 billion fraud.
Of the 21 counts filed, 19 were
squashed by a federal high court in Jos, leaving two.
However, the two counts against
Goje, who currently represents Gombe central, was withdrawn by the office of
the attorney-general of the federation (AGF) on July 6 – one month after
meeting President Muhammadu Buhari over the national assembly leadership
election.
In a statement on Thursday,
Erokoro described the charges as “an embarrassing triviality”.
“The two counts of the charge
that were withdrawn by the attorney-general were an embarrassing triviality.
The charges had become more of persecution than prosecution,” the lawyer said.
“It was therefore no surprise to
those familiar with the case when the attorney-general of the federation
withdrew those ridiculous charges.
“The attorney-general did the
right thing and should be commended for saving the face and the resources of
the government, by terminating the futile proceedings.”
The counsel noted that during the
proceedings, the prosecution’s star witness exonerated the former governor,
hence the squashing of the 19 counts by the court.
“The prosecution’s own witnesses
completely exonerated the defendants. It was this reason that the 19 counts
were all dismissed by the court, on the No Case submission,” he said.
“The two remaining counts
challenged the Governor’s power to approve the recommendation of the
commissioner of finance that the old, unserviceable buses of Gombe Line, be
sold to the public, following the purchase of new ones.
“As every adult in Nigeria knows,
the sale of unserviceable vehicles is a routine exercise periodically
undertaken by the government and even by private organisations. This is the
first time that the authority of a governor to approve such a sale has been
made the subject of a criminal charge.
“The overused buses, many of
which had become scraps, had been in use as commercial passenger vehicles for
seven to eight years. The buses were valued by a proper board of survey at the
cumulative sum of N22.5m. That value was realised from the sale and the
proceeds were paid into the account of the Gombe state government.
“The prosecution witnesses all
testified that the procedure was proper and that the Governor did not buy any
of the buses and took no benefit personally from the sale.”
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