Balancing the Chief Accountant’s word against the Defendant would be to
consider Bobo, Jerusha and Aboki. All of these Three Witnesses did not
appear before the Court. Aboki’s whereabouts was unknown, and the Two
Domestic Staff attached to the Lodge, were said to be dead.
The only vindication therefore for the Defendant would be evidence of the
Actual Delivery of the Rice Product to Jalingo from Lagos. The Invoice from
the Rice Seller and/or Receipt acknowledging Payment would be sufficient
to dispel this Offence.
There was also the fact that these Funds were not retired as regulated and
there was no Query raised by the Defendant on the Retirement of Funds.
The Defendant in his evidence before the Court admitted giving Mr. Wubon
an Oral Directive to prepare the Memo and this again, was a Breach of
Procedure from the Established Practice.
If, the Defendant’s Supporters made the Request for the Grains to him in
Taraba State, he did not need to get to Abuja to direct Taraba to send the
Funds to Abuja for onward delivery to Lagos before the Rice was purchased.
This does not make any iota of sense!
By his evidence, the Defendant has stated that he could not produce any
Document evidencing the fact that the Grains were purchased or even knew
the Name and Address of the Supplier in Lagos.
One of his Witnesses, DW1, had testified as to the Correct Procedure and had
more importantly found it contrary to the Financial Instructions of the State
for the Abuja Liaison Office to collect money for the Grains. It was not the
Budgetary Vote of the Abuja Liaison Office to purchase Grains, so the
Defendant’s Instruction to them to do so, was clearly Wrong and a Breach of
Established Procedure.
It is curious, why the Accountant in Abuja Liaison Office had to make a trip to
the Ministry of Finance in Jalingo to collect a Cheque there, especially when
the collected Cheque was deposited into the Bank Account of the Abuja
168