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Posted By Admin On July 22nd, 2025

The prosecution of former Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, and his former Commissioner for Finance, Alhaji Ademola Banu, resumed on Monday before Justice Mahmud Abdulgafar of the Kwara State High Court in Ilorin.

The two are standing trial over the alleged diversion of N5.78 billion in public funds.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is prosecuting the case, alleging that the defendants conspired to misappropriate funds allocated for critical sectors, specifically, salaries for teachers and infrastructure development in primary and junior secondary schools across the state.

The funds in question reportedly stem from Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, grants disbursed to the Kwara State Government between 2013 and 2015.

According to the EFCC, a portion of the N5 billion earmarked for educational infrastructure was unlawfully diverted.

Further compounding the allegations, a report from a UBEC Projects Monitoring Committee indicated that 51 school projects approved under the 2013 Action Plan were abandoned due to lack of funds, despite the fact that UBEC had released funding for their execution.

The trial, which began on December 4, 2024, has already seen the EFCC present its first witness, Abubakar Hassan, an Assistant Director of Finance at UBEC. Hassan testified that the funds intended for educational projects in the state were misappropriated.

The proceedings were scheduled to continue on Monday with the testimony of another prosecution witness, Alhaji Suleiman Oluwadare Ishola, the former Accountant General of Kwara State.

Source: https://dailypost.ng/2025/07/22/trial-of-ex-kwara-gov-ahmed-over-n5-78bn-fraud-resumes/