Alleged N5.78bn Fraud: EFCC Presents More Witnesses In Trial Of Ex-Kwara Gov

The Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday, presented more witnesses in the alleged N5,78bn case involving the former Kwara State Governor, Alh Abdulfatah Ahmed, and his former Commissioner for Finance, Ademola Banu.

At the resumed hearing on Tuesday, the sixth prosecution told Justice Mahmud Abdulgafar of the Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin that the vouchers to borrow N1billion were raised by officials of Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).

The witness, Suleiman Ishola, who served as the Accountant General of Kwara State between 2013 – 2019, had in his testimony on Friday, April 11, 2025, told the court that, the sum of N1bn being a matching grant from UBEC was borrowed by the Ahmed’s administration in 2015 to pay salaries of civil servants and pensioners.

Ishola maintained that neither of the defendants authorised the vouchers or received any direct payments from the borrowed funds.

His testimony corroborated the earlier testimony by former SUBEB chairman, Barrister Lanre Daibu, who also confirmed receiving formal approval from the state government to access the UBEC matching grant for salary payments.

Following cross-examination by defence counsels – J.A. Mumini (SAN) and Gboyega Oyewole (SAN), representing Ahmed and Banu respectively, Ishola was discharged from the witness box.

The prosecution then called its seventh witness (PW7), Stanley Ujilibo, an assistant commander of the EFCC, who was part of the investigation team.

Led in evidence by Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), Ujilibo narrated the sequence of events leading to the defendants’ prosecution.

He told the court that the EFCC received a petition dated April 17, 2024, signed by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Kwara State, Akande Idowu Ayoola, on behalf of the state’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice.

The petition, he said, alleged diversion of UBEC funds allocated for educational infrastructure across the state’s 16 local government areas.

To aid the investigation, the witness said that the EFCC wrote to UBEC requesting relevant documents and nominated personnel.

“In response, Hassan Abubakar, an assistant director at UBEC, provided action plans for the 2013–2015 fiscal years, detailing contractors’ names and project costs,” he said.

Ujilibo explained that states were required to pay a 50% counterpart contribution to access UBEC matching grants, and that project proposals must be defended before a UBEC committee before release of funds.

He added that the EFCC invited several key officials, including Lanre Daibu, SUBEB director of Physical Planning, Engr. Abdulsalam Olarewaju; former SUBEB permanent secretary, Dr. Musa Dasuki; Accountant General Ishola, and the then permanent secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Benjamin Fatigun, all of whom made voluntary statements.

The witness said the EFCC also obtained financial records from Polaris Bank and Guaranty Trust Bank, which handled SUBEB accounts, to trace the flow and application of UBEC funds.

Ujilibo testified that both defendants were invited and they volunteered statements in the presence of their lawyers, without any form of coercion.

The court admitted their extra-judicial statements as exhibits, as there was no objection from the defence.

Further hearing on the matter has been adjourned to October 16 and 17, 2025.