Glory Ebomah
Justice C.L Dabup of the Plateau State High Court sitting in Jos has adjourned the ongoing trial of a former governor of Plateau State, Senator Jonah David Jang and a former cashier in the Office of the Secretary to the State Government (OSSG), Yusuf Pam, for judgment.
He made the adjournment on Thursday, July 14, 2022, after the adoption of final written addresses by both the prosecution and defence counsel.
Jang and Pam are facing trial for alleged criminal breach of trust and misappropriation of Plateau State funds to the tune of N6.3 billion.
At the resumed hearing of the case on Thursday, counsel to the first defendant (Jonah Jang), Mike Ozekhome, SAN adopted his final written address and urged the court to discharge and acquit his client.
Ozekhome, who also informed the court that the first defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against him, said the case lacked merit and that the prosecution did not prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Speaking in the same vein, counsel to the second defendant (Yusuf Pam), S.G. Odey, while adopting his final written address, urged the court to discharge and acquit his client on all charges levelled against him.
Prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, however, urged the court to consider the evidence of all the fourteen (14) witnesses before it, especially the evidence of Prosecution Witness 5, PW5, which supported the confessional statement of the second defendant. Jacobs submitted that the required proof is not “proof beyond all shadow of a doubt.”
He informed the court of two pending motions seeking leave to appeal the two rulings on trial within the trial and urged the court to allow the adoption of the two pending motions.
Ozekhome did not object to the two applications but Odey indicated his intention to oppose them. The court thereafter directed that the final addresses be adopted.
The prosecution adopted the written address and urged the court to convict the first and second defendants. Ozekhome adopted his written address and prayed the court to discharge and acquit his client.
Odey also adopted his written address and urged the court to discharge and acquit Pam.
Justice Dabup, thereafter, informed all the counsel that the High Court of Plateau State will be going on vacation and all the counsel consented that the judge could deliver judgment on the matter during the vacation period.
The judge thereafter adjourned the case for judgment to a date which will be communicated to the parties.