The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has re-arraigned former Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, and his Commissioner for Finance, Ademola Banu, on 14 fresh charges of alleged N5.78 billion fraud.
The charges were presented at the Kwara State High Court on Monday, with Justice Mahmud Abdulgafar presiding.
The EFCC accused the two men of misappropriating public funds intended for state security and development projects, including funds earmarked for teachers’ salaries and infrastructure development in the state.
This re-arraignment follows the withdrawal of the case from the Federal High Court in Ilorin, where the duo had been previously standing trial.
The case was transferred after the former trial judge, Justice Evelyn Anyadike, was reassigned to another division. The initial trial began on April 29, 2024, with a 12-count charge.
One of the charges against Ahmed and Banu alleges that, in January 2015, the two men illegally used N1 billion from the Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board Matching Grant account to pay civil servants’ salaries. The funds were originally allocated for project execution in the state.
Another charge claims that between July and September 2016, Ahmed and Banu transferred N990 million from the same SUBEB account to Polaris Bank to repay loan facilities, in violation of the Compulsory Free Universal Basic Education Act.
When the charges were read in court, both defendants pleaded not guilty. EFCC counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, requested that the charges filed on October 15, 2024, be accepted and read to the defendants, a request that was not opposed by the defense team, led by Kamaldeen Ajibade, SAN, and Gboyega Oyewole, SAN.
The defense then sought bail for the defendants, noting that they had been granted administrative bail since 2019 and had not breached any of its terms. They urged the court to allow the previous bail conditions to continue.
In his ruling, Justice Abdulgafar granted bail to Ahmed and Banu in the sum of N100 million each, with two sureties. One surety must be a serving or retired permanent secretary in Kwara State.
The case was adjourned to December 4 and 5, 2024, for further proceedings.
