Posted by From MARIAM ALESHINLOYE AGBOOLA Jos on
A rowdy session characterised the resumed sitting of the seven-man panel set up to investigate allegations of misappropriation of fund, money laundering and abuse of office brought against Governor Joshua Dariye of Plateau State; even as London Metropolitan police testified on 13 bank accounts alleged to be owned by the governor in Britain.
A rowdy session characterised the resumed sitting of the seven-man panel set up to investigate allegations of misappropriation of fund, money laundering and abuse of office brought against Governor Joshua Dariye of Plateau State; even as London Metropolitan police testified on 13 bank accounts alleged to be owned by the governor in Britain.
The five hour session saw counsel to the governor, Pius Akubo (SAN) protesting vehemently that the sitting should be deferred following a court injunction to that effect. He said tomorrow had been fixed for hearing in the suit before the Jos High Court.
Counsel to the 14 members of the Plateau State House of Assembly led by Barrister Simon Lalong Mr. Garba Pwol who was initially denied audience by the panel was later asked to either align himself with Dariye's counsel or to the counsel to the eight member House of Assembly led by Mike Dapialong. This added to the rowdiness of the sitting.
The comment did not go down well with Mr. Pwol who in the course of the proceedings accused the chairman of bias, saying the committee had already determined the outcome of the case and asked the chairman, Mr. Mark Samci to disqualify himself from the sitting.
At the resumption of sitting, counsel to Governor Dariye reminded the panel about the 10- point protest letter he had earlier presented at the inaugural sitting and asked him to act on it but the chairman urged him to leave the matters raised for the courts to decide as they were already before various courts. He said his panel was merely on fact finding mission and nobody was on trial.
While testifying detective Peter Clark who led the London police team alleged that Governor, Dariye was guilty of money laundering offences and jumping bail granted to him by the police in the United Kingdom and thus violated Section 7 of the Bail Act of 1976 and if convicted could be sent to jail.
He said Governor Dariye used many people as fronts to launder money in 13 separate accounts in the Barclays Bank of England as well as one in National West Minster Bank.
He said that Dariye also used such fronts to acquire property in the UK.
However, the sitting was not without drama as the chairman of the committee, alleged that there had been attempts to induce the members of the committee by some parties.
He did not name them. But he warned that nobody should visit his house or try to induce him by any means.
The chairman drew attention of the committee to a paragraph in a petition forwarded to the commission by counsel to the governor, Mr. Pius Akubo (SAN). The paragraph in question alleged that the committee had already pre-determined the outcome of the investigation going by what was contained in the letter written to it by the G-6.
Samci protested that the said paragraph was a stain on the character of the members and asked the counsel to withdraw it and apologise to the committee.
But Akubo, said that the paragraph was not meant to cast aspersion on the members, but After much argument, Akubo apologized to the members of the committee.
This again drew a lot of arguments and in the end members of the committee concurred that since it was not Pwol that appointed them, they had implicit confidence in the ability of the chairman to lead the committee.