Govt should be commended for withdrawing corruption case against me – Sen Goje

A former governor of Gombe State, Senator Danjuma Goje, has said that the Federal Government should be commended, rather than being criticised for withdrawing corruption charges against him.

Many Nigerians had cried foul over the Federal Government’s withdrawal of corruption charges levelled against the All Progressives Congress (APC) senator.

The cries came especially as the case was withdrawn not too long after the senator met with President Muhammadu Buhari and reigned his ambition to contest the office of the President of the 9th Senate.

Soon after Goje resigned his ambition, it was rumoured that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had withdrawn two of the remaining 21 charges it levelled against Goje in 2011. 19 of the charges were struck out earlier in March 2019, leaving only two counts.

EFCC had denied the claim. But soon after the denial, the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) took over the matter and subsequently withdrew the matter, early July, from a Federal High Court presided over by Justice Babatunde Quadiri.

Explaining through his counsel, Paul Erokoro (SAN), in a statement on Thursday on why the Federal Government withdrew the remaining charges against him, Goje said:

“The two count charges that were withdrawn by the Attorney-General were an embarrassing triviality. The charges had become more of persecution than prosecution. It was therefore no surprise to those familiar with the case when the Attorney-General of the Federation withdrew those ridiculous charges.

“The Attorney-General did the right thing and should be commended for saving the face and the resources of the government, by terminating the futile proceedings.”

Arguing that the sale of unserviceable vehicles;wa a routine exercise periodically undertaken by the government and even private organisations Goje added:

“This is the first time that the authority of a governor to approve such a sale has been made the subject of a criminal charge.

“The overused buses, many of which had become scraps, had been in use as commercial passenger vehicles for seven to eight years. The buses were valued by a proper Board of Survey at the cumulative sum of N22.5 million.

“That value was realised from the sale and the proceeds were paid into the account of the Gombe State Government.

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“The prosecution witnesses all testified that the procedure was proper and that the Governor did not buy any of the buses and took no benefit personally from the sale.”

The two counts that were withdrawn by the governmnet bordered on how 50 buses belonging to Gombe State Transport Company were sold during Goje’s reign as the state governor.

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