Justice C. L. Dabup of the Plateau State High Court, Jos, on Wednesday adjourned till November 4 and 5, 2020 the case of fraud involving former Plateau State governor, Jonah David Jang, and a former cashier in the Office of the Secretary to the State Government (OSSG), Yusuf Pam.
According to a statement by the head of Media and Publicity of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Dele Oyewale, the commission is prosecuting the duo for alleged criminal breach of trust and misappropriation of Plateau State funds to the tune of N6.3 billion.
At Wednesday’s sitting, prosecuting counsel, O. D. Mese, informed the court that the lead counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, agreed with Jang’s lead counsel, Mike Ozekhome, for August 12 and 13, 2020 as adjournment dates, given that the second day of continuation of the trial, Thursday, July 30, 2020, was declared public holiday by the Federal Government.
Justice Dabup, however, chose November 4 and 5, 2020 as adjourned dates for the continuation of the trial.
The EFCC re-arraigned Jang and Pam in February this year following the re-assignment of the case to Justice Dabup by the state’s Chief Judge, Justice Yakubu Dakwak after the initial trial judge, Justice Daniel Longji, on his last sitting on the bench on December 29, 2019, dismissed the defendants’ no-case-submission, and held that they had a case to answer.
Jang and Pam were first arraigned in June 2018, on 17-count charges bordering on misappropriation of funds, criminal breach of trust and taking corrupt advantages to the tune of N30,236,024,219.88 (Thirty Billion, Two Hundred and Thirty-Six Million, Twenty-Four Thousand, Two Hundred and Nineteen Naira, Eighty-Eight kobo), which contravened the provisions of sections 315, 309, 19 and 22(5) of the Penal Code Law and Corrupt Practices Act 2004 (as amended).
