Court postpones trial of ex-Kwara gov in ₦5.78bn fraud case to Feb 16

The trial of the immediate past Governor of Kwara State, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, and his former Commissioner for Finance, Ademola Banu, was on Thursday adjourned to February 16, 2026, following proceedings at the Kwara State High Court, Ilorin.

The two defendants are being prosecuted by the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over an alleged ₦5.78 billion fraud.

At the resumed hearing before Justice Mahmud Abdulgafar, the sixth prosecution witness, Stanley Ujilibo, told the court that the EFCC, during its investigation, obtained bank statements of the Kwara State Government from Polaris Bank and Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank).

Led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), Ujilibo explained that letters dated August 1, 2025, were written to the managing directors of the then Skye Bank (now Polaris Bank) and GTBank, requesting the state government’s statements of account.

He said the banks acknowledged the letters and later supplied the requested documents, which were admitted in evidence as exhibits.

The EFCC alleged that the defendants approved the diversion of Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) matching grant funds to pay salaries of civil servants, contrary to the purpose for which the funds were released.

According to the commission, the grants and counterpart funds—constituting 50 per cent of the total allocation—were meant for the provision of basic infrastructure in primary and junior secondary schools across the 16 local government areas of the state.

At an earlier sitting, a former Accountant-General of Kwara State, Suleiman Oluwadare Ishola, testified that ₦1 billion, being a UBEC matching grant, was borrowed in 2015 by the Ahmed-led administration to pay salaries of civil servants and pensioners.

Ujilibo further told the court that the EFCC received a petition from the Kwara State Government, which led to additional correspondence with the Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General as part of the investigation.

However, when the prosecution sought to tender responses from the Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General, the defence counsel, Kamaldeen Ajibade (SAN), raised an objection, noting that the documents had not been properly highlighted for easy reference.

Following the observation, Justice Abdulgafar adjourned the matter to February 16, 2026, for continuation of the trial.