Jurisdiction Challenge Postpones Former Taraba Governor's Corruption Case Until January

Former Taraba State Governor Darius Ishaku has filed preliminary objections challenging a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court’s jurisdiction over his case. Justice Sylvanus Oriji, presiding over the case, postponed a decision on Wednesday after hearing arguments from both parties.

Ishaku and Bello Yero, a former permanent secretary at the Taraba State Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, face a 15-count charge from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The charges include conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, and alleged misappropriation of N27 billion in public funds.

Justice Oriji deferred his ruling on the court's jurisdiction in compliance with Section 396(3) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), stating that he would reserve judgement until the appropriate time.

Defense attorneys, P.H. Ogbole, SAN, representing Ishaku, and Adeola Adedipe, SAN, representing Yero, argued that the FCT High Court lacks constitutional and territorial authority over a case concerning Taraba State’s finances. Ogbole contended that only the state has the power to investigate and prosecute matters involving its own funds.

Adedipe supported this claim, referencing a Supreme Court decision in Shema v. Federal Republic of Nigeria, which ruled that the EFCC cannot take over state-level anti-corruption functions if the state has its own commission. He argued that Taraba State has an anti-corruption commission legally mandated to handle cases involving its finances.

The prosecution, represented by Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, countered these objections, urging the court to proceed with the case, claiming it has jurisdiction over financial crimes occurring partly within Abuja. Jacobs also questioned the validity of the Taraba State anti-corruption law, arguing that it was not officially gazetted and lacks signatures from both the state governor and assembly speaker.

Justice Oriji postponed the hearing until January 21.