N25bn fraud: Court orders arrest of Goje

A Federal High Court sitting in Jos, Plateau State, has ordered the arrest of Senator Danjuma Goje, a former governor of Gombe State, for not appearing in court. Daily Post reports that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) may arrest Goje on October 4, if he fails to show up in court. The statement read in parts: “A Federal High Court, sitting in Jos, Plateau State, on October 4, 2016 (Tuesday) issued a bench warrant against former Governor of Gombe State, Danjuma Goje, for refusing to show up in court. “The warrant is, however, to take effect by 8am on October 5, 2016, if he fails to show up in court again.” At the last sitting, a prosecution witness, Salisu Abaji, said that the ex-governor awarded a contract for the supply of dictionaries for over N1 billion to Gombe State Universal Basic Education Board without following procurement process. He was also allegedly said to have paid 85 per cent of the contract sum upfront to the supplier, Real and Integrated Hospitality Company, as against the prescribed 15 per cent as contained in the Universal Basic Education Board (UBEB) guidelines when he was the governor. The prosecution witness, who is a former secretary to UBEB, made the testimony against his former boss. He further submitted that one Aliyu el-Naffty, former UBEB chairman, also an accused person standing trial along with Goje, awarded the contract the same day and ordered the advance payment based on the directive of the then governor. This is not the first time Goje has been arrested. It was reported that the ex- governor was visiting his local government, Akko, when he was apprehended by the commissioner of police for an undisclosed reason or formal charge. The serving senator was said to have been released although the reason for his arrest is still unknown. Danjuma Goje, took office as the governor of Gombe State on 29 May 2003. He became a Senator for Gombe Central on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the April 2011 elections.