Federal Government withdrew graft charges against me to save face, says Danjuma Goje

Former Governor of Gombe State, Danjuma Goje has declared that the Federal Government withdrew corruption charges against him to save face.

Goje, who withdrew from the Senate Presidency race shortly before the June 11, 2019 inauguration of the Ninth National Assembly, said there had been serious misunderstanding and wrong impression on the real reasons for the withdrawal of criminal charges against him.

The Federal Government had withdrawn all charges it filed against Goje through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), an action many had linked to his withdrawal from the Senate Presidency race for Ahmad Lawan.

But Goje clarified the matter in a statement by his lawyer, Paul Erokoro (SAN) titled: Truth About The Withdrawal by the Attorney General of the Federation of Criminal Charges Against Senator Danjuma Goje.

He described the withdrawal as not only embarrassing, but also highly trivial, adding: “There was nothing to surprising in the withdrawal of the criminal charges since they were already dead.”

The charges, he stressed, were more of persecution than prosecution and ought to have been discontinued, pointing out that the alleged N25b charge against him was not mentioned in the case and that the total amount mentioned came to N8b.

He explained that of that amount, he took N5b as loan for completion of infrastructure projects such as the Gombe Airport, waterworks, roads, Gombe Jewel Hotels, schools, hospitals and rural electrification.

Goje also revealed that the bank testified in court that the money was properly utilised for the projects, while EFCC investigators confirmed that the projects were completed.

On the N1b agricultural loan, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) testified that the loan was utilised in full compliance with the bank’s loan conditions.

Other witnesses also told the court that Goje never awarded any contract of N1b for supply of food to Government House and Government Guest Houses during his tenure as alleged.

The court heard that UBEC approved N1.6b for the supply of English Dictionaries to primary and secondary schools after the contract was advertised in two national dailies and that reputable book publishers and suppliers tendered bids before SUBEB awarded the contract.

“As can be seen, the 19 count charge that were framed around monetary issues collapsed during trial, as the prosecution’s witnesses completely exonerated the defendants. It was for this reason that the charges were all dismissed on a no case submission,” the statement added.