HomeFeaturesEFCC Levels 14 Charges On Ex-kwara Gov, Commissioner

EFCC Levels 14 Charges On Ex-kwara Gov, Commissioner

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday lodged 14 fresh charges in connection with a N5.78 billion fraud case against former Kwara State governor Abdulfattah Ahmed. The new charges were submitted before the Kwara State High Court, adding to ongoing investigations surrounding the former governor’s administration and financial conduct.

Former Kwara State Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Ademola Banu, was also implicated in the charges brought before Justice Mahmud Abdulgafar. His inclusion as a co-defendant alongside former governor Abdulfattah Ahmed further intensifies the scope of the N5.78 billion fraud case.

Both Abdulfattah Ahmed and Ademola Banu face allegations of diverting and misusing public funds allocated for key state projects and security initiatives. The charges suggest that these funds, meant to benefit the state’s development and safety, were instead siphoned off for other purposes.

The re-arraignment of former Kwara governor Abdulfattah Ahmed and his finance commissioner occurred after the EFCC opted to withdraw the case from the Federal High Court in Ilorin. The withdrawal was a consequence of Justice Evelyn Anyadike’s reassignment to another division, leaving the trial in need of a new presiding judge.

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.

The presiding judge was, however, transferred in the course of the trial, making the case to start de-novo.

Read also: FG Seeks To Nullify Ongoing Suit Against EFCC, NFIU

While the name of the ex-governor featured in all the 14 counts, Banu’s name did not appear in count 7, where only Ahmed was accused of failure to fill the assets declaration form offered to him by officers of the EFCC upon arrest.

The offence was contrary to Section 27(3)(c) of the EFCC (Establishment) Act No. 1 of 2004 and punishable with a term of five years imprisonment under Section 27(3) of the same Act.

Abdulfatah, among sundry issues, allegedly spent an aggregate sum of N1,610,730,500 meant for the security 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 former governor and his finance commissioner were alleged to have conspired to steal money meant to pay the salaries of teachers working with the Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board.

They were also accused of stealing money meant to provide security and other infrastructural facilities for the people of the state, among others.

Count one of the charges read: “That you, ABDULFATAH AHMED (while being the Governor of Kwara State) and ADEMOLA BANU (while being the Commissioner for Finance in 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 read: “That you, ABDULFATAH AHMED (while being the Governor of Kwara State) and ADEMOLA BANU (while being the Commissioner for Finance in 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.”

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