Aide Defrauds Gen. Danjuma N2bn

Former Defence Minister, Lt. Gen. Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma (retd) is presenttly not a happy man as latest reports indicate that the military topshot has lost a whooping sum of N2billion to one of his aides.

According to a report published by Punch online, a special assistant to the general, Manasseh Zorto, was on Friday, 29 August, 2014, brought before a Federal High Court in Lagos State for allegedly defrauding his boss of N2bn.

It was however gathered that the suspect could not be arraigned before Justice Okon Abang because he was said to be on the run.

When the matter was called, the counsel to the Special Fraud Unite, Chief Godwin Obla, said the police were having challenges in bringing the accused to court.

Lt-Gen. Danjuma

He said the police would apply for bench warrant for the arrest of the suspect.

“My lord, we are in court today so as not to allow the matter to be unattended to. We humbly pray the court to grant us more time to bring the accused to court for arraignment.

“For now, we don’t want to apply for bench warrant but we will make more efforts to arrest the accused,” Obla said.

Justice Abang consequently fixed 2 October for the arraignment.

According to the charge sheet, Zorto was said to have fraudulently used his position as an employee of Tita-Kuru Petrochemicals Limited, T.Y Holdings Limited and Central Realities Limited, all companies linked to Danjuma, to steal about N2bn from the companies.

Danjuma was born in Takum, Taraba State (formally Gongola), Nigeria to Kuru Danjuma and Rufkatu Asibi. Takum was mainly a farming community when Danjuma was young, the crops grown there such as yams, rice, cassava and beniseed were cultivated largely by families and clans.

His father was a hardworking peasant whose ancestors were all highly respected members of the community. Kuru Danjuma was a farmer who also traded in metal parts for farming implements and tools.
Danjuma started his education at St Bartholomew’s Primary School in Wusasa and moved onto the Benue Provincial Secondary School in Katsina-Ala where he was the captain of the school cricket 1st XI team, he received his Higher School Certificate in 1958.

In 1959 Danjuma enrolled at the Nigerian College of Arts Science and Technology in Zaria (Ahmadu Bello University) to study History on a Northern Nigeria Scholarship. However by the end of 1960, Danjuma had left university in order to enrol with the Nigerian Army. He retired from the Nigerian army in 1979.