By Erewunmi Peace

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has presented additional witnesses in the ongoing trial of former Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed over an alleged ₦5.78 billion fraud involving the mismanagement of Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) funds.

At the resumed hearing on Monday, July 22, 2025, before Justice Mahmud Abdulgafar of the Kwara State High Court in Ilorin, the EFCC called its sixth and seventh witnesses to testify in the matter.

One of the key witnesses, Suleiman Oluwadare Ishola, who served as Kwara State Accountant-General between 2013 and 2019, told the court that a ₦1 billion matching grant from UBEC in 2015 was used to pay salaries and pensions due to financial constraints at the time. He clarified that the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) issued the payment vouchers and that neither Governor Ahmed nor his Finance Commissioner, Ademola Banu, directly received or authorized the disbursement of the funds.

Another EFCC witness, Stanley Ujilibo, an Assistant Commander with the anti-graft agency, revealed that the investigation began in April 2024 after a petition was submitted by the Kwara State Directorate of Public Prosecutions. The petition alleged that UBEC funds disbursed to the 16 local government areas in 2015 had been misappropriated.

“We requested documents from UBEC and obtained bank statements from GTBank and Polaris Bank, which contained financial transactions involving the Kwara SUBEB accounts,” Ujilibo testified.

The EFCC is prosecuting Ahmed and Banu on 14-count charges bordering on criminal breach of trust and misappropriation of public funds totaling ₦5.78 billion during Ahmed’s tenure as governor from 2011 to 2019.

The trial has been adjourned to October 16 and 17, 2025, for continuation.

The former governor was first arrested by the EFCC in May 2024, and later granted bail. He has consistently denied wrongdoing, insisting that all funds during his administration were used for public interest and properly accounted for.

The EFCC has pledged to pursue the case to its logical conclusion in a bid to ensure accountability in public office.