The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has said that it would arrest former Governor of Gombe State, Danjuma Goje, if he refuses to appear in court on Wednesday.

This was made known in a post on its social media handle, in which the anti-graft agency said that Goje is standing trial for an alleged N25bn fraud while he was governor.

The statement said that “A Federal High Court, sitting in Jos, Plateau State, on October 4, 2016 (Tuesday) issued a bench warrant against former Governor of Gombe State, Danjuma Goje, for refusing to show up in court.

“The warrant is however to take effect by 8am on October 5, 2016, if he fails to show up in court again.”

It was not clear at the time of this report whether Goje, who is currently the Senate Committee Chairman on Appropriation, showed up in court.

Among the many charges, the former governor is accused of a N1 billion naira contract, during his time as governor, for the supply of dictionaries to the Gombe State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB, without following due process.

During the last hearing, a prosecution witness, Salisu Abaji, testified that the former governor ordered the payment of 85% of the contract sum upfront to the supplier, Real and Integrated Hospitality Company, as against the prescribed 15 per cent as contained in the UBEB guidelines.

He also told the court that one Aliyu El-Naffty, former chairman of the SUBEB, also an accused person standing trial alongside Goje, awarded the contract the same day and ordered the advance payment based on the directive of the then governor.

Meanwhile, acting Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, has said that enforcement alone may not be enough to stop corruption, rather more emphasis should be place on measures to prevent corruption.

At the unveiling of the EFCC Creative Youths Initiative against Corruption in Abuja, Magu noted that “Prevention is an effective and necessary weapon that must be employed in conjunction with enforcement, and there is no group of Nigerians better equipped to wield that weapon than the youth.

The EFCC boss maintained that all Nigerians are stakeholders in the anti-corruption campaign, saying that the war cannot be left to government agencies alone.

Magu also reiterated the EFCC’s commitment not to relent in the efforts to rid the nation of corruption.