Alleged N5.78b Diversion: Absence of witness stalls trial of ex-Gov Abdulfatah, Commissioner Banu

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The trial of former Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed and his finance commissioner, Ademola Banu, in the alleged diversion of N5.78b SUBEB fund at the Kwara State High Court in Ilorin was stalled on Monday due to the absence of two witnesses in the case.

Ahmed and Banu are being prosecuted over alleged diversion of over N5.78 billion fund of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) for the payment of salary of the state’s civil servants.

After a brief round-off of cross examination of a prosecution witness, Stanley Ujilibo, whose testimony was moved from the last sitting, the prosecution counsel, Adebisi Adeniyi, told the could that the next witnesses were unavoidably absent and requested an adjournment to another date with the assurance that the witnesses would be present at the next sitting.

However, before the request for adjournment, Ujilibo, while being crossed examined by Kamaldeen Ajibade, SAN, the lead counsel to the first defendant, Ahmed, told the court that he would not know if one Ayoola Idowu, a civil servant who\ petitioned the EFCC about the alleged diversion benefited from the fund as salary payment to him.

Ajibade had queried whether Idowu, as a civil servant benefitted from the fund when it was allegedly used to pay salary of the state’s workers.

Also, the witness when being cross-examined by Gboyega Oyewole, SAN, the counsel for the second defendant, Banu, could not point out a document that shows that the second defendant as the Commissioner for Finance wrote to borrow money from the SUBEB fund.

When asked to go through the exhibits before the court he pointed out a letter written by the second defendant to the first defendant requesting that the state should pay its counterpart fund to the SUBEB fund.

When the second defendant’s counsel said the letter did not talk about borrowing but payment of funds, the witness pointed out another letter from the exhibit which talked about borrowing but which was signed by someone else and not the second defendant.

The request of the prosecution counsel for adjournment was not opposed by the counsel for the first and second defendants and the trial judge, Justice Abdulgafar Mahmoud adjourned the proceeding to November 9th,2026.