Danjuma Goje suffers setback in bid to become senate president as EFCC file appeal against in his N5bn case

FORMER Gombe State governor Senator Danjuma Goje's bid to become Nigeria's senate president has suffered a major setback after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) filed an appeal against his recent high court victory.

Senator Goje, 66, has just been elected for a third term on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC)  to represent Gombe Central Senatorial District and is one of the three frontrunners seeking to become senate president. However, he is facing a N5bn ($13.8m) fraud charge and last month, he won a major legal battle when a federal high court in Gombe partially upheld a no-case submission he filed.

However, the EFCC has filed an appeal with the Court of Appeal in Jos, Plateau State, seeking to secure a conviction. Through its prosecuting counsel Wahab Shittu, the EFCC said that between September and November 2010, Senator Goje forged a document titled Resolution Authorising His Excellency the Executive Governor of Gombe State to acquire a loan of N5bn.

According to the commission, the resolution was purportedly signed by clerk of the Gombe State House of Assembly, Shehu Atiku with the intent that it be acted on as genuine by Access Bank. This letter was then forwarded to the bank and the N5bn loan facility was obtained from Access Bank by the Goje administration for infrastructural projects but EFCC officials said that their investigation revealed that the purported Gombe State House of Assembly resolution was forged.

Ruling on Senator Goje’s no-case submission on March 22, Justice OB Quadri, dismissed 19 of the 21-count charges. Senator Goje has since filed an appeal to challenge the court’s refusal to up-hold his no-case submission in its entirety, hoping to get the two other cases dismissed too.

Mr Shittu is however, challenging the dismissal of 19 cases, saying that the court failed to consider that the N5bn facility did not comply with rules for capital expenditure. He added that the court also ignored the fact that the purported resolution authorising the loan was forged.

After highlighting several other errors by the lower court, Mr Shittu urged the Court of Appeal to set aside aspects of the ruling sustaining Senator Goje’s no-case submission. In addition, the EFCC sought an order directing the defendants to enter their defence in respect of the counts for which they were discharged.