EFCC Arrests Ex-Taraba Governor Darius Ishaku Over Alleged N9.3bn Fraud

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested Darius Ishaku, former governor of Taraba State, over an alleged N9.3 billion fraud. Ishaku, who served as governor from 2015 to 2023, is currently in EFCC custody in Abuja, according to reliable sources.

While the EFCC has confirmed the arrest, spokesperson Dele Oyewale did not provide further details about the case. However, it has been revealed that the anti-graft agency has filed a 15-count charge against Ishaku at the Federal High Court in Abuja. He is expected to be arraigned alongside Bello Yero, the former permanent secretary of the Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in Taraba State.

The charges against Ishaku include criminal breach of trust and misappropriation of state funds, allegedly violating Section 315 of the Penal Code Act, Cap 532, Laws of the Federal Capital Territory, 2007.

According to the charges, Ishaku and Yero are accused of diverting N1.10 billion from contingency funds belonging to the Taraba State Bureau for Local Government between August 2015 and March 2016. Additionally, they are alleged to have dishonestly diverted another N1.1 billion for personal use during the same period.

Other allegations include the diversion of N193 million between January 2019 and April 2021, N650 million in 2019, and N170 million during the same timeframe. The pair are also accused of misappropriating N201.9 million and N132.1 million within the same period.

Notably, the EFCC claims the defendants diverted a significant sum of N3.3 billion, alongside another N639.4 million, between July 2019 and February 2021. In a separate count, they allegedly misappropriated N993 million between September 2016 and February 2021. Additional charges involve the alleged diversion of N90 million between May and December 2015.

In two separate charges, Ishaku alone is accused of diverting N23 million and N761.3 million between October 2016 and January 2018.

Ishaku had previously been invited by the EFCC in July 2023 to answer questions related to financial mismanagement during his tenure as governor. He was released on bail after the initial questioning.