By Correspondent in Abuja.
The trial of former Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed and his erstwhile Finance Commissioner, Ademola Banu, over an alleged N5.78 billion fraud deepened on Tuesday as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) presented two more witnesses in court to unravel the complex web of financial misappropriation.
Our correspondent reports that at the resumed hearing before Justice Mahmud Abdulgafar of the Kwara State High Court, Ilorin, the prosecution introduced its sixth and seventh witnesses.
It sought to establish a pattern of diversion involving Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) funds originally earmarked for critical infrastructure projects across the state’s 16 local government areas.
Suleiman Oluwadare Ishola, former Accountant-General of Kwara State (2013–2019), testified that a N1 billion UBEC matching grant was controversially borrowed by the Ahmed administration in 2015 to pay civil servant and pensioner salaries,a diversion from its intended purpose.
Ishola, who had earlier testified in April, reaffirmed that neither Ahmed nor Banu directly received funds or signed vouchers related to the disbursement.
However, he confirmed that SUBEB (State Universal Basic Education Board) officials initiated the loan process and raised the vouchers, acting on government approval.
His testimony aligned with earlier submissions by former SUBEB Chairman, Barrister Lanre Daibu, who also claimed the state formally approved the use of the UBEC funds for salary payments,contrary to UBEC regulations.
Under cross-examination by defence counsels J.A. Mumini (SAN) and Gboyega Oyewole (SAN), representing Ahmed and Banu respectively, Ishola was released from the witness box.
The prosecution then called its seventh witness, Stanley Ujilibo, an Assistant Commander with the EFCC and a member of the investigative team.
Led in evidence by senior prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), Ujilibo detailed how the EFCC uncovered discrepancies in the use of the UBEC funds, following a petition dated April 17, 2024, filed by the Kwara State Director of Public Prosecution, Akande Idowu Ayoola.
Ujilibo told the court that UBEC guidelines strictly require states to pay 50% counterpart funding and submit project plans for vetting before accessing the grants.
According to him investigations, however showed that funds meant for educational infrastructure were allegedly funneled into unrelated expenditures.
In pursuit of clarity, the EFCC wrote to UBEC and obtained documents covering the 2013–2015 fiscal years.
The response from UBEC, delivered by Assistant Director Hassan Abubakar, included action plans, contractor details, and project budgets—many of which did not match the actual deployment of funds.
According to Ujilibo, several key officials were invited and gave voluntary statements to the EFCC. These included Daibu, SUBEB’s Director of Physical Planning, Engr. Abdulsalam Olarewaju, former SUBEB Permanent Secretary Dr. Musa Dasuki, Accountant-General Ishola, and then Finance Ministry Permanent Secretary, Mr. Benjamin Fatigun.
Bank records obtained from Polaris Bank and Guaranty Trust Bank, where SUBEB maintained accounts, further enabled the EFCC to trace the movement and alleged misapplication of the education funds.
Ujilibo said both defendants were invited by the Commission and made voluntary statements in the presence of their legal counsel. The court admitted their extra-judicial statements as exhibits without objection.
Justice Abdulgafar adjourned further hearing of the case to October 16 and 17, 2025, as the EFCC continues its effort to establish criminal liability in what is shaping up to be one of the most high-profile corruption cases in Kwara State’s recent history.
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
