A prosecution witness, brought to a Jos High Court by the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Habila Dung Gwom, to testify in
the ongoing corruption trial of the immediate past Governor of Plateau
State and Senator representing Plateau North, Jonah Jang, has turned
around to accuse the EFCC of putting him under pressure to make
statements that he would not have willingly made.
Gwom said, “I don’t even know what to say; I made the statements
voluntarily, but I was under serious pressure, having been kept in
detention for about a week. The pressure was much that I said some
things that I shouldn’t have said, but because of the pressure on me;
like the bank statement.”
The witness who was a Permanent Secretary Security served under
Jang’s administration from December, 2014 to September, 2015 had been
under cross-examination by Counsel to the Senator, Chief Mike Ozekhome
(SAN).
His testimonies and document presented to the court during
cross-examination revealed withdrawal from the state government accounts
for security purposes from the Jang administration down to Governor
Simon Lalong’s administration, during which he also served briefly
before he was retired, followed similar pattern where several tranches
of N10 million were withdrawn on same.
The retired Permanent Secretary also revealed that records of such
monies withdrawn for security purposes were not properly kept by him
because that was the norm he met on ground when he resumed at the
office.
He further explained that, after Jang left office, Lalong and his
Secretary to the State Government (SSG) also raised several memos for
withdrawals like it happened while Jang was Governor.
Against his initial testimony, Gwom said there was no time he
personally witnessed that cash were taken to Jang, even as he did not
also know how security monies were disbursed.
He said monies released and spent for security passed through normal
processes, and indeed many departments that were not headed by the then
Governor.
Presiding judge, Justice Daniel Longji thanked Ozekhome and the
prosecution counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) for their diligence during
the four days of hearing of the case, adding that “we’ve been able to do
much.”
Justice Longji then adjourned the matter to the 5th, 6th, and 7th of March, 2019 for continuation of cross-examination.
It would be recalled that the EFCC, on Monday, May 7, 2018, preferred
a 12-count fraud charge against Senator Jang, for alleged
misappropriation of over N6.3billion two months to the end of his tenure
as governor in 2015.
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