Goje’s Trial Adjourned as Youths Protest Alleged Stolen State Funds

The trial of Senator Muhammad Danjuma Goje, the immediate past Governor of Gombe State for conspiracy and money laundering on Thursday came to an abrupt halt following a protest by youths outside the Federal High Court in Gombe.

Goje along with four others were dragged before the court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The trial has been on for the past three years.

The youths who carried placards with various inscriptions: ‘bring back our money,’ ‘Goje must go to jail,’ ‘we support President

Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption fight’, ‘Goje used us for Kalare activities,’ among many others, were noticed inside the court room by the presiding judge, Justice Babatunde Quadri who adjourned hearing to November 25.

The youths who barricaded the Gombe-Bauchi road with their placards, demanded among other things, that Goje returned their money which they alleged he stole during his tenure as the governor of the state from 2003 to 2011.
They insisted that looters should not be leaders and called on President Buhari to ensure that corrupt leaders are arrested, prosecuted and punished so that sanity can return to public offices.

The youths accused the senator of luring and indoctrinating them into a wild political thug group otherwise known as Kalare and therefore demanded that he returned their money to facilitate their rehabilitation.

However, during the court proceedings, the previous day, three witnesses were called by the prosecution including the Clerk of the state House of Assembly, Shehu Mohammed Atiku, as prosecution witness (PW3).

Other witnesses who also testified were PW1, Solomon Okotie and the State Solicitor-General, PW2, who was represented by a senior official from the office of the Solicitor-General.

In view of the protest outside the court, it could not continue with the witnesses’ testimonies as the judge adjourned to November 25, 2015 for further mention.