Ex-Governor’s Supporters Storm Court
From Saka Bolaji, Minna
Former Governor of Niger state, Dr, Muazu Babangida Aliyu and his former commissioner, Umar Nasko who also served as Chief of Staff were yesterday docked in a Minna High Court on six-count charge of dishonestly converting to personal use money belonging to the Niger state government amounting to over five billion naira.
Babangida and Nasko were ushered into the court room at about 8.40am by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) led by the commission’s lead counsel, Gbolahon Latona and three other lawyers.
The accused persons pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to them by Judge Aliyu Mayaki.
The court however stood down for 30 minutes at the start of the case to enable counsel of the parties involved in the case compare notes on oral application made by EFCC to amend its original charges.
On resumption of proceedings, the legal teams to the first and second accused persons, Ayodele Oladeji and Mamman Mike Osuman did not object to the amended charges.
The first count charge accused Aliyu and Umar of committing illegal act of criminal breach of trust in 2015 contrary to section 97 of criminal code.
The second count charge of withdrawal of the sum of N540m from Zenith Bank Account No. 1012424374 for personal use, contrary to Section 111 of penal code and punishable under section 104 of the penal code was for the former governor only.
Also, the former governor was alone in the third count charge of dishonestly converting to personal use over N1.725 billion belong to Niger state government, contrary to Section 311 of penal code and punishable under section 304.
However the fourth count charge of dishonestly converting to personal use the proceeds from the sale of Niger government shares in the power plant amounting to N1.9 involved both accused persons while the fifth and sixth counts bothered on using ecological funds of N800m and another amount of N432m were also for both accused persons.
Meanwhile, hundreds of pro-Babangida Aliyu supporters who thronged the court to show their solidarity over the travail of their former chief servants were disallowed from gaining access to the court premises by the over 150 heavily armed security agents.
The protesters however defied the scorching sun of Minna as they gathered few meters away from the court premises, chanting pro-Babangida Aliyu song.
The protesters carried placards with different inscriptions some of which reads, “Talba we trust, “Talba we know”, “EFCC is a political dog”, “free Talba, there are more thieves in APC than PDP” “there is no change”.
Some of the protesters who spoke to our correspondent said the trial of the former governor was purely political, saying that “there are even more thieves in APC than PDP”.
They questioned the decision of the anti-graft agency to arrest the former governor two years after he left office, describing it as a political witch-hunting by the APC-led government.
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