Now, from the undisputed facts, the Defendant, Chief Joshua Chibi Dariye, twice served as Governor
and Chief Executive Officer of Plateau State. From Exhibit P1, the Letter from the Attorney General of
the Federation and Minister of Justice dated the 20th of September 2004 to the Central Authority,
United Kingdom, referred to the Defendant as a Public Officer while asking to Freeze the Bank
Accounts opened in Breach of the Code of Conduct Forms for Public Officers, as well as his Executive
Act seen in Exhibit P4, the Letter written and signed by him under the Letterhead Paper of the
Executive Governor, Plateau State Government of Nigeria and from his Schedule of Duties defined in
the Constitution and by his Oath of Office, he is clearly a Public Officer for the purposes of this Section.
As Executive Governor of Plateau State from 1999 to 2007 (taking aside the Period of his
Impeachment), he performed Public Functions, was paid from Public Funds and was Empowered by
the Law to carry out Public Duties for the benefit of the Public, and did exercise some amount of
Authority of Function on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria. The Defendant also had a
Relatively Fixed Tenure of Office with some sense of Permanency or Continuity and by the Oral and
Documentary Exhibits, which confirm that the Defendant served as Executive Governor, the
Defendant is found by the Court to qualify as a Public Servant/Officer for the purposes of this Trial
and the Court further finds, in the absence of contrary evidence, that this 1st Essential Element has
been satisfied throughout all the Counts1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21 and 23.
THE PROSECUTION’S SECOND DUTY TO PROVE: ENTRUSTMENT OR DOMINION
The Second Essential Element necessary to Ground this Offence is the proof by the Prosecution that in
his Capacity as a Public Servant, holding a Public Office, the Defendant was entrusted with the Monies
or with Dominion over the Monies.
After considering the Submissions and Arguments under this Head, it is clear that before there can be
Conviction on a Charge of Criminal Breach of Trust, there must be evidence of Entrustment and of
Dishonest Misappropriation of what was entrusted. Reference is made to the Case of BATSARI VS
KANO NATIVE AUTHORITY (1966) NRNLR PAGE 151 AT PAGES 152, 153.
“To Entrust” and “To have Dominion” were stated disjunctively in the Penal Code. To Entrust
means to assign responsibility for doing something to someone and also means to put something
into someone’s care or protection. Dominion, on the other hand, means Sovereignty, Control
over the Property and the Power or Right of Governing or Controlling that Property.
As earlier set out above, by Section 5(2) (a) of the 1999 Constitution (As Amended), confers Wide
Executive Powers on the Defendant and it is not necessary to show that the Property was that of the
Government or of his Employer. The Offence can be committed in respect of any Property entrusted to
the Public Servant in his capacity as such. See the case of AKWULE VS THE QUEEN (1963) NNLR
PAGE 105.
ONU JSC IN MARA VS THE STATE (2013) 3 NWLR (2012) 14 NWLR PT. 1320 PAGE 287 AT 318
AT 319 AT PARA C, held that the Defendant must be a Clerk or Servant or in such Capacity, of the
Person reposing trust in him, and in that capacity, he was entrusted with the Property in question or
with Dominion over it and had committed Breach of Trust in respect of it. See also the Cases of FRN
VS NUHU & ANOR (2015) LPELR-26013 CA PER ABIRU JCA; AJIBOYE VS FRN (2014) LPELR24325 CA PER ALKALI JCA.
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