The Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin has adjourned proceedings in the ongoing trial of former Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed and his then Commissioner for Finance, Ademola Banu, to February 16, 2026. The duo are facing prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged diversion of ₦5.78 billion during Ahmed’s administration.
At the resumed hearing before Justice Mahmud Abdulgafar, the sixth prosecution witness, Ujilibo, testified that the EFCC obtained bank statements of the Kwara State Government relating to loans reportedly secured to pay teachers’ salaries under the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).
Led in evidence by prosecution counsel Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), the witness confirmed that the EFCC wrote to banks requesting statements of accounts linked to SUBEB funds and Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) matching grants.
These bank statements were tendered and admitted in evidence as exhibits.
Proceedings stalled following a disagreement between Jacobs and defence counsel, Kamaldeen Ajibade (SAN), regarding the arrangement of documents served on the defence.
Ajibade argued that the documents before the court differed from those served on the defence, noting they were neither paginated nor properly arranged to facilitate response.
Jacobs countered that the same documents were served and maintained it was not the duty of the prosecution to arrange them for the defence.
Justice Abdulgafar adjourned the matter, directing that the documents be put in proper order before trial could continue.
Speaking after the proceedings, Ajibade described the development as unacceptable in a criminal trial, stressing that the prosecution ought to have properly prepared and served the proof of evidence.
Jacobs, however, insisted the EFCC had discharged its responsibility, noting that while the defence demanded pagination and chronological arrangement, the commission’s duty was limited to forwarding the documents.
The EFCC alleges that Ahmed and Banu unlawfully approved the use of UBEC matching grants to pay civil servants’ salaries, contrary to the statutory purpose of the funds.
At an earlier sitting, former Accountant-General of Kwara State, Suleiman Ishola, testified that ₦1 billion from UBEC matching grants was borrowed in 2015 to pay salaries and pensions.
