Plateau State High Court yesterday dismissed the no case application of ex-governor Jonah Jang, in a suit of alleged illegal diversion and misappropriation of N6.3 billion filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In his ruling, Justice Daniel Longji, who is retiring from service after the case, said both Jang and his accomplice, Yusuf Pam, have a case to answer.
The EFCC has lodged 17 count charges against Jang, among which is diversion of the sum of N2 billion provided by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for empowering youths and women on small and medium scale enterprises.
Another charge has to do with misappropriation/diversion of funds meant for the State Universal Basic Education (SUBEB), among others.
In the proceedings, EFCC presented its witnesses and tendered documents as evidence through its lead counsel, Rotimi Jacob SAN, and thereafter closed its case.
However, Jang’s counsel led by Mike Ozekhome (SAN) filed a no submission case, saying that their client was not guilty because no case was established against him to warrant his indictment by the court, and sought the court to rule in their favour.
But in his ruling, Justice Daniel Longji, said having gone through all processes of the applicants and prosecution, the prosecution (EFCC) has established a strong case against the accused (Jang), and therefore he has a case to answer.
The case would be handed over to a new chief judge and a new date for hearing/ruling would thereafter be communicated.
