for himself the WHOLE of the One Hundred and Eighty Million Naira (N180,
000, 000) in the first instance, had it been he acted all alone in this saga. He
certainly was not acting alone in putting together this Frankenstein Monster.
Someone would have aided him to achieve this feat since he was only a
Freshman in the Civil Service of Taraba State Government.
According to Alhaji Abubakar Tutare, the Defendant’s Commissioner of
Finance: “The Content of the Memo was for the Purchase of Stationeries and an
Approval was given ALONG WITH A VERBAL INSTRUCTION that the Sum
of One Hundred and Eighty Million Naira (N180, 000, 000), should be
paid into the Account of Salman Global Ventures.”
It is worthy of note that the Defence eviscerated this material piece of
evidence under Cross-Examination.
What then does that say about the Memo? It could be a Memo inhabited by
Two Spirits, one Good and the other Evil. The Good Spirit was the Written
Instruction while the Evil Spirit was the Verbal Instruction or a good
depiction of Dr. Jekyll and Hyde. Whether Good or Bad, both appeared to be
emanating from the Same Source. According to Alhaji Abubakar Tutare,
“Instructions are Instructions and whether Written or Verbal, as long as
they come from one’s Boss, they are considered as Instructions. These
Verbal Instructions of the Governor were based on the Governor’s
Written Approvals contained in the Memo.”
In other words, the Defendant, as Governor, not only gave the Memo life by
giving his Approval, but apparently sanctioned the Thought Process of the
Commissioner of Finance, Alhaji Abubakar Tutare. Alhaji Tutare,was a
Witness with no Civil Service Background, who learnt the Pros and Cons of
the Civil Service in the course of occupying that Office as Commissioner, and
to him, every instruction from his Superior was an Order.
Further, he stated that the entire Sum of Two Hundred and Fifty Million
Naira (N250, 000, 000) was initially deposited into the Account of Salman
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