A Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin on Thursday adjourned proceedings until February 16, 2026, in the trial of a former governor of the state, Abdulfatah Ahmed, and his former Commissioner for Finance, Ademola Banu, over the alleged diversion of ₦5.78 billion.
The duo are being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on charges of financial misconduct allegedly committed during Ahmed’s administration.
At the resumed hearing before Justice Mahmud Abdulgafar, the sixth prosecution witness, identified as Ujilibo, testified that the EFCC obtained bank statements of the Kwara State Government during its investigation into loans reportedly secured to pay teachers’ salaries under the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).
Led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, the witness said the commission wrote to various banks requesting statements of accounts linked to SUBEB funds and Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) matching grants. The bank statements were subsequently tendered and admitted in evidence.
Proceedings were, however, stalled following a disagreement between Jacobs and defence counsel, Kamaldeen Ajibade (SAN), over the organisation of the documents already served on the defence and tendered before the court.
Ajibade argued that the documents presented in court differed from those served on the defence and were neither paginated nor properly arranged to enable the defendants to respond effectively.
Jacobs disagreed, insisting that the same documents were served and that it was not the responsibility of the prosecution to arrange them for the defence.
The disagreement prompted the court to adjourn the matter to allow both parties to properly organise the documents.
In his ruling, Justice Abdulgafar adjourned the continuation of the trial to February 16, 2026, noting that the adjournment was necessary due to the improper arrangement of the documents.
Speaking to journalists after the proceedings, Ajibade described the situation as unacceptable in a criminal trial, arguing that the prosecution ought to have properly prepared and served the proof of evidence.
“This is a criminal matter, and the prosecution is expected to serve proof of evidence in advance. A criminal trial should not be conducted by ambush,” he said.
He added that the documents served were not clearly highlighted to enable the defence determine whether to object to their admissibility.
Jacobs, on his part, maintained that the EFCC had fulfilled its obligation.
“We served all the documents sought to be tendered. Their complaint is that the documents are not paginated or arranged chronologically. It is not our duty to arrange documents for the defence,” he said.
The EFCC alleges that Ahmed and Banu approved the use of UBEC matching grants to pay salaries of civil servants, contrary to the purpose for which the funds were released.
At an earlier sitting, a former Accountant-General of Kwara State, Suleiman Ishola, testified that ₦1 billion from the UBEC matching grants was borrowed in 2015 to pay salaries of civil servants and pensioners.
