Money Trail, ended at the Defendant’s Doorstep. The Defendant’s instruction
to PW4, Mr. Dennis Nev, was a Wrong Direction, as he even admitted that the
Secretary of the State Government, who had the Budget Votes for such
Events, was the Official Delegate to receive State Visitors. PW7, Mrs. Asabe
Maiangwa, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, had testified
that the Office of the Secretary to the State Government is the Office to apply
for Funds to receive Guests and after the Application is made, the Secretary
to the State Government is to receive the Funds. DW1, Mr. Yakubu Bulus also
confirmed this Procedure in his Cross-Examination.
Therefore, if the Defendant exercised his right to delegate the responsibility
of receiving Visitors to a Permanent Secretary, who is from a Different
Department, then it is expected that, at least, this Delegation should have
been formalized in a Written Form.
The Reasonableness of the Defendant’s Approvals in Exhibits O1, O2 and
O3, taking into account the Time Factor and Lack of Accountability,comes up
for question, in that the Funds expended were meant for the Activities of the
Government House and did not extend to Mambila Projects. The Prosecution
did not prove Conversion of these Funds to the Defendant’s Personal Use
and Benefit, but proved Misappropriation of these Funds. Had Mr. Dennis
Nev or any other Official converted the Monies to their Own Use, they would
have been queried by the Defendant and probably prosecuted. There is no
evidence of any Query raised.
Therefore, all in all the Court finds that the Prosecution has been able to
establish the Dishonest Misappropriation of these Funds in Counts 9, 11
and 13, and the Defendant, Rev. Jolly Nyame, is found Guilty on these
Counts.
The Offences Relating to the Counts 15, 17, 19, 21, 23 and 25, dealt with
the Sums of Fifteen Million Naira (N 15,000,000.00), Twenty Five Million
(N25, 000, 000.00), Twenty Million Naira (N20, 000, 000.00), Two Million
Naira (N2, 000, 000.00), Four Million Naira (N4, 000, 000.00) and Six Million
Naira (N6, 000, 000.00).
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