A prosecution witness informed the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama on Monday that subvention funds from Taraba State’s local governments were deposited into a private firm’s account while the state was led by former governor [Darius Ishaku](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darius_Ishaku).
The [Economic and Financial Crimes Commission](https://efcc.gov.ng) is prosecuting the ex‑governor and Bello Yero, who was then the Permanent Secretary of the Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, for allegedly misappropriating up to N27 billion belonging to the state and several of its local authorities.
Mr Ishaku, who governed [Taraba State](https://taraba.gov.ng) from May 2015 to May 2023, and his co‑accused face fifteen counts that include criminal breach of trust, conspiracy and conversion of public funds for personal benefit.
Taiwo Jones, an assistant cashier with the state government and the third witness for the prosecution, testified that he received roughly N600 million to N700 million from Gassol Local Government into the account of P3 Cornerstone Nigeria Limited. He also acknowledged receiving money from other local governments but did not provide a total figure.
Led by senior counsel Rotimi Jacobs, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr Jones described the transfers as “part of local government subvention,” a term that usually denotes a government grant for a specific purpose. He did not specify the intended purpose of the subvention.
When asked to estimate the amount received from Gassol LG, the witness replied, “It would be around N600 million to N700 million, give or take. I don’t have my calculator.”
In June, Mr Jones began recounting how he **received** Taraba State local government monies into his company’s account and disbursed them following instructions from Mr Yero.
He explained that he operated a firm called P3 International, originally used for his farming activities before he joined the civil service as an assistant cashier in the Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs. He **confirmed** that, on Mr Yero’s direction, he received N1.8 billion through his company’s account for onward payments to other parties.
Gassol LG sent N700 million
During the Monday hearing, he outlined that he collected about N700 million from various local governments between 2019 and 2021. The EFCC’s lawyer, Mr Jacobs, asked the witness to review a letter from [United Bank for Africa](https://www.ubagroup.com) that listed the local‑government transfers against the statement of account supplied by P3 Cornerstone.
The witness’s account showed that the money sent from the LGs arrived in his company’s account on the same dates. Some of the funds were subsequently transferred to an account labelled “Seven per cent Emirates and Traditional Councils.”
Following Mr Yero’s orders, Mr Jones either moved the money to Prince Onwuzurike or withdrew portions and handed them to Mr Yero together with Dare Lawal.
Lawal and Onwuzurike had earlier testified as the first and second prosecution witnesses, respectively, describing their roles in the disbursement of the diverted funds.
Mr Lawal, the first witness, previously worked for Mr Ishaku’s private business before serving as his personal assistant during the governorship, and he testified throughout last year about receiving millions from various state officials, including Mr Yero, on behalf of the former governor.
The second witness, Mr Onwuzurike, who highlighted his personal relationship with the co‑defendant Mr Yero, **told the court** that he received money into his account and withdrew it under Mr Yero’s instructions.
Mr Jones’s testimony on Monday shed further light on the flow of the funds.
Details of funds sent to P3 Cornerstone’s account
Mr Jones listed the amounts deposited into his company’s account from 2019 to 2021. He said that on 11 October 2019, Yorro LG transferred N50 million to P3 Cornerstone Nigeria Limited, which he then handed over entirely to Mr Yero and Mr Lawal.
He added that the firm received N58.5 million on 25 October 2019, which was subsequently passed to Mr Onwuzurike.
Gassol LG made two separate payments of over N64.9 million and N1.4 million to P3 Cornerstone, with the bulk of the money later moved to the “Seven per cent Emirates and Traditional Councils” account.
Ardo Kola LG also transferred N55 million on 28 November 2019, and Gassol LG sent an additional N62 million.
Zing LG contributed N70 million and N11.3 million from Yorro LG, all of which were deposited into P3 Cornerstone’s account, according to the witness.
He reported that he informed Babagida Hassan, the then Director of Finance, about receiving the funds, and sometimes received instructions from him on how to handle the money. He claimed he never faced any query for failing to deliver the transferred amounts.
Afterward, Mr Jacobs presented the witness’s EFCC statement and personal bank statements from UBA as evidence.
The trial judge, Slyvanus Oriji, adjourned the case to Tuesday, 6 October, for further proceedings.