Sen. Jonah David Jang, former Governor of Plateau State, will be arraigned on
Monday at the Plateau State High Court in Jos, after he would have spent
168 hours (one week) in the custody of the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission in Abuja, a family source has said.
“Jonah David Jang has not been released. The case is coming up on
Monday and he will be arraigned before Justice Daniel Longji of Plateau
State High Court in Jos on the 12 counts filed against him by the EFCC,”
the source said.
The EFCC had preferred 12 charges against him over an alleged fraud amounting to about N6.3bn.
The ex-governor, who currently represents Plateau-North Senatorial
District, allegedly embezzled some special funds released to the state
by the Central Bank of Nigeria. He was said to have done so two months
to the end of his tenure as governor in 2015.
Jang, in a motion on notice filed by his team of lawyers led by
Christopher Eichie, Yakubu Philemon and Kola Oseni, before a Federal
Capital Territory High Court in Abuja to enforce his fundamental human
rights, said he was diabetic.
He asked the court to order the EFCC to pay him N500m in damages for
his detention without trial and to offer him public apology in two
national newspapers.
In a related development, the General Overseer of the Evangelical
Outreach Ministries International, Prophet Isa El-Buba, has said that
Nigerians seeking to contest the Presidency in the 2019 general
elections with President Muhammadu Buhari should expect mass arrest.
He also warned that Nigeria would soon cease to exist if the trend of
killings and attacks on Christians by suspected Fulani herdsmen in
different parts of the country continued unchecked.
El-Buba said this in an interview with journalists in Jos, while
reacting to the continued detention of Jang by the EFCC, without trial.
He said, “The continued detention of Jang without trial is jungle
justice. One thing I know about Jang is that he can fight injustice and
oppression. The Bible is very clear; a government that establishes
itself on the seat of righteousness and justice will live.
“But a government that establishes itself on injustice and
unrighteousness will be taken off and this is what we are going to see.
As we prepare for the 2019 elections, Nigerians should expect mass
arrest. Anybody seeking election should be ready for arrest.
“I don’t see any reason why the EFCC should continue to keep Jang
without arraignment. There is no reason for the confinement of Jang
because he has always shown up whenever he is invited.”
Meanwhile youth under the aegis of the Jang Support group have
confirmed that they will protest what they term “jungle justice” of the
senator. They queried why the senator was detained for 1 whole week,
when he has been faithful in honouring all invitations by the EFCC.
Several who spoke to our correspondent, indicated that Jang’s detention
is simply a witch-hunt to derail his plans to contest the 2019
presidential elections. They lambasted the current APC administration
for the happenings.