THISDAY ONLINE

Turaki's Burkinabe passport with which he wanted to skip town

Gov. Turaki weeps in court

"He was the youngest Nigerian governor of his time. And he betrayed his youthfulness yesterday as he broke down in tears. Former governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Ibrahim Saminu Turaki, who marked his 44th birthday in EFCC’s custody last Saturday, wept uncontrollably as a Federal High Court in Abuja remanded him in prison custody over allegations of money laundering.
But his Abia State counterpart, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu, was calm throughout his time in court. His face gave away little or nothing on whatever was going on in the inner recesses of his mind. He looked blank, his mien coded in unreadable body language.
Both men had been charged before the court last Friday by Economic and Financial Crimes Comm-ission (EFCC) before their trials began yesterday. They were both remanded in Kuje Prisons.
Similarly, another Abuja Federal High Court has remanded former Plateau governor, Joshua Dariye, standing trial for similar offences, in the custody of the EFCC.
The accused persons, who were arraigned yesterday before the respective courts, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Security in and around the court premises was very tight as every person who had a business with the court was frisked by security agents.
Turaki betrayed emotion publicly as he cried uncontrollably, wiping tears intermittently with a white handkerchief, shortly after Justice Binta Murtala-Nyako ordered his detention in prison."