Justice Mahmood Abdulgafar of the Kwara State High Court has fixed December 3, 2024, for the commencement of the trial of the immediate past governor of Kwara Abdulfatah Ahmed over a 15-count charge bordering on the alleged diversion of N3 billion public fund.
The presiding judge, Justice Abdulgafar, later fixed December 3, 2024, for the commencement of the trial.
In an interview with journalists, the counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Rotimi Jacobs said that the re-arraignment of the former governor from the Federal High Court to the state High Court was due to the conclusion of the investigation of other aspects of the allegations and to prevent moving from one court to another.
Charges Against the ex-Kwara Gov
That you, ABDULFATAH AHMED (while being the Governor of Kwara State) and ADEMOLA BANU (while being the Commissioner of Finance of 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.
That you, ABDULFATAH AHMED (while being the Governor of Kwara State) and ADEMOLA BANU (while being the Commissioner of Finance of Kwara State), on or about 14th January, 2015 in Ilorin, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, in such capacity having dominion over certain property, to wit: the sum of N1,000,000,000.00 (One Billion Naira), committed criminal breach of trust in respect of the said sum, when you dishonestly transferred the said sum from the Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) Matching Grant account into the Kwara State Pension Salary account domiciled with Polaris Bank for the payment of salaries of civil servants in Kwara State 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.
Credit: channelstv.com
