Funds in the Cheque were already assigned for this identified and specific purpose.The Usual
Custodians of these Types of Cheques were the Permanent Secretary of Finance, Commissioner of
Finance or the Accountant General of Plateau State, who were the Officials expected to lodge the
Cheque into the Plateau State Government Account and disburse the Monies in the Cheque upon
Approval from the Executive Governor. This shows that there is an Established Process and Order in
the scheme of things. There are Steps to be taken before Approvals and Disbursement could take
place.
PW5, Mr. Cyril Tsenyil, the Accountant General of Plateau State’s testimony is on point, on the Steps to
be taken before Approvals and Disbursements are made. According to him, by his experience as
Accountant General, the Procedure was to ensure that the Defined Channels through which Payment
Vouchers are generated, follow Due Process. There must be an Approval by the Executive Governor or
an Accounting Officer of a Ministry, Department and Agency, whose Approval is sent to the Director of
Treasury to process the Approval for Payment. The Director of Treasury then sends it onwards to the
Account (Other Charges) or Account (Salaries), depending on the circumstances, to raise the Payment
Voucher. After the Auditor checks this Payment Voucher, it is passed back to the Accountant General
to check whether the Payment Voucher together with the Attachments such as the Initial Approval
etc., satisfied the requirements. Whereupon he then authorizes Payment either through the Medium
of a Cheque or by e-Payment instructions and he added that the Accountant General would not pay
out Government Monies without the Vouchers.
In other words, Public Expenditure is expected to follow Due Process after going through the inbuilt
Checks and Balance System, administratively or statutorily created, by a State. If this were not so, then
the Defendant ought to have entered into the Witness Box and testify to the contrary with hard
evidence.
By the testimonial evidence of PW1, PW3, DW2, DW8 and DW10, they all maintained that the
Central Bank of Nigeria Cheque was NOT handed over to the Officials of Plateau State Government
and was NOT lodged into any Account of the Plateau State Government.
It is clear that the Lodgment of the Cheque into the AllStates Trust Bank Plc., Abuja Branch, and with
the Handwritten Instruction to clear this Cheque in the manner stated therein, is an indication of the
direction the Defendant intended to take. The Defendant in Exhibit P13C, his Extra-Judicial
Statements before the EFCC, he had stated therein that, “I confirm that the Special Allocation of
Ecological Fund of N1, 167, 162, 900, which was not peculiar to Plateau State, was signed and collected
by my Orderly Sgt Victor Dilang. This Instruction was subsequently cleared and disbursed as explained
above in the foregoing paragraphs.”
It remains sacrosanct that the Central Bank of Nigeria Cheque was NOT Lodged or Cleared through
the Account belonging to the Plateau State Government, either with the AllStates Trust Bank Plc., or
with the Lion Bank Plc. but lodged and Cleared through the Sundry Account of the AllStates Trust
Bank Plc. as instructed by the Defendant. Immediately, the AllStates Trust Bank Plc., began to apply
the Cheque as directed in the Handwritten Instruction of the Defendant, the Cheque began to lose its
Originality, both in FORM and in SUBSTANCE. The Cheque had changed its FORM, from being NO
longer a CHEQUE but transfigured into DRAFTS. Not only did this transfiguration occur, the
SUBSTANCE, that is, the Original Sum in the Cheque had also changed, from the Sum of N1, 161, 162,
900 down to the Sum of N550, 000, 000 in favour of Plateau State Government, which was raised
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