The Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Monday, October 21, 2024 re-arraigned the immediate past governor of Kwara State, Abdulfatah Ahmed alongside his Finance Commissioner, Ademola Banu on a 14-count amended charge bordering on alleged diversion of public funds to the tune of N5.78billion before Justice Mahmud Abdulgafar of the Federal High Court sitting in Ilorin.
Their re-arraignment was a sequel to the transfer of the former trial judge, Justice Evelyn Anyadike of the Federal High Court sitting in Ilorin to another division.
Recall that Governor Abdulfatah and Banu were first arraigned on a 12-count charge of mismanagement of public funds before Justice Anyadike on April 29, 2024, to which they pleaded not guilty. However, the presiding judge was transferred in the course of the trial. Hence, the case has to start de-novo
While the name of the ex-governor featured in all the fourteen counts, Banu’s name did not appear in count 7 where only Ahmed was accused of failure to fill assets declaration form offered him by officers of the EFCC upon arrest contrary to Section 27(3)(c) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act No. 1 of 2004, which is an offence punishable with a term of 5 years imprisonment under Section 27(3) of the same Act.
Governor Abdulfatah among sundry issues allegedly spent an aggregate sum of N1,610,730,500.00 (One Billion, Six Hundred and Ten Million, Seven Hundred and Thirty Thousand, Five Hundred Naira), meant for the security and administration of the state to charter private jets through Travel Messengers Limited, contrary to Section 22(5) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 and punishable under the same section.
The erstwhile governor and his finance commissioner were accused of conspiring to divert the money which was meant to pay salaries of teachers working with Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board, meant to provide security and other infrastructural facilities for the people of the State among others.
Count one of the charges reads:
“That you, ABDULFATAH AHMED (while being the Governor of Kwara State) and ADEMOLA BANU (while being the Commissioner of Finance of Kwara State), on or about 14 January 2015 in Ilorin, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did illegally spend the sum of N1,000,000,000.00 (One Billion Naira) to pay Salaries of civil servants in Kwara State which sum was originally domiciled in the Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) Matching Grant account and which sum formed part of the funds allocated for the execution of the projects stated in the action plan for the year 2013 and approved by the Universal Basic Education Board (UBEC) and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 22(5) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 and punishable under the same section.”
Count four reads:
“That you, ABDULFATAH AHMED (while being the Governor of Kwara State) and ADEMOLA BANU (while being the Commissioner of Finance of Kwara State), between 25th July 2016 and 7th September 2016 in Ilorin, within the Jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, in such capacity having dominion over certain property, to wit; the sum of N990,545,883.64 (Nine Hundred and Ninety Million, Five Hundred and Forty-Five Thousand, Eighty Hundred and Eighty-Three Naira and Sixty-Four Kobo), committed criminal breach of trust in respect of the said sum when you dishonestly transferred the said sum from the Kwara SUBEB Matching Grant account into Polaris Bank for the repayment of loan facilities granted to the Kwara State Government by the said bank contrary to the direction of the Compulsory Free Universal Basic Education Act, 2004, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 315 of the Criminal Code and punishable under the same section.”
When the case was called at exactly 9:00 am on Monday, counsel to the EFCC, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, told the court, “My Lord, we have a 14-count charge dated, 15th day of October 2024, filed on the same date. We urge your Lordship to accept the charge and allow it to be read to the defendants “
Responding, the lead counsel to the first and second defendants, Kamaldeen Ajibade, SAN and Gboyega Oyewole, SAN, did not object to the application. Therefore, Justice Abdulgafar granted the application and ordered that the charge be read to the defendants.
The duo pleaded not guilty to their respective charge when it was read to them.
Thereafter, the defence, through separate applications on behalf of their clients, sought the leave of the court to move oral applications for the bail of the defendants. They told the court that the case had started in 2019 and the defendants were granted administrative bail by the Commission, which they had never jumped.
They urged the court to exercise its discretion to admit the first and second defendants to bail as all the offences levelled against them are bailable.
Ruling on the applications, Justice Abdulgafar admitted the former governor (Abdulfatah) and his Commissioner for Finance, Demola, Banu, to bail in the sum of N100 million with two sureties each. One of the sureties must be a permanent secretary serving or retired.
Speaking with journalists after the court proceedings, Barrister Kamaldeen Ajibade told journalists that the most important thing is for justice to be served irrespective of where his clients are arranged.
Explaining the appearance of his clients before the state high court said;”I’m sure you have been following the story, the charges were withdrawn last week at the federal high court and my client his Excellency former Governor Abdul Fatah Ahmed was re-arraigned this morning in this court.
“The charges were read and he pleaded not guilty and we applied for the bail and it was granted.
“I wouldn’t know why the case was transferred from the federal high court to the state high court, that’s left for the prosecutor. I don’t have any reservations about that, but the most important thing is for justice to be served. We are happy that we are here, any court they take us to, we are prepared.” he said.
For his part, Counsel to EFCC Barrister Rotimi Jacobs told journalists that: “the case came up today for the first time,Our charge was accepted by the judge and we request that the charge be read to the defendants and the two of them pleaded not guilty. The court also admitted them to bail because they were joined by Administrative bail and bail in the other court.
It would not be appropriate to contend with bail when it has been granted by the other court …
On why the case was brought to the state high court, he said “We investigated the other side of the allegations brought against them, the investigation was completed and it’s just about putting them in one court instead of moving them from one court to the other, that’s what we have done. “he said.
The case was adjourned to December 4, 2024 for commencement of trial.