From Taiye Joseph, Ilorin
The trial of former Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, and his former Commissioner for Finance, Ademola Banu, over the alleged diversion of N5.78 billion, belonging to the Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), resumed on Monday, July 27, 2026, with the continuation of the cross-examination of the sixth prosecution witness (PW6), Stanley Ujilibo, before Justice Mahmud Abdulgafar of the Kwara State High Court in Ilorin.
Ahmed and Banu are being prosecuted by the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on charges bordering on the alleged diversion of SUBEB funds.
Ujilibo, an EFCC operative, had testified at the previous sitting on June 17, 2026, that former Governor Ahmed approved a request to obtain a N1 billion loan from the state’s SUBEB counterpart fund to pay workers’ salaries. According to him, the approval followed a request by the then Commissioner for Finance, Ademola Banu, a move he said was contrary to the statutory purpose for which the SUBEB funds were established.
At Monday’s proceedings, during further cross-examination by counsel to the first defendant, Kamaldeen Ajibade (SAN), Ujilibo maintained that the 2013, 2014 and 2015 SUBEB intervention projects were designed to be executed solely by the Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board under the supervision and monitoring of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), in line with the approved action plan.
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He insisted that the intervention projects were not projects of the Kwara State Government.
The witness also disclosed that the petition which led to the investigation and eventual prosecution originated from the then Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Mr. Ayoola Idowu.
When asked whether Idowu was among the beneficiaries of the N1 billion allegedly borrowed from the SUBEB fund by the Kwara State Government, Ujilibo said he could not confirm whether the former DPP benefited from the funds, noting that he was a civil servant at the time.
Responding to questions from counsel to the second defendant, Gboyega Oyewole (SAN), on whether Banu, as Commissioner for Finance, was a member of the SUBEB Board or a signatory to its accounts and related documents, the witness confirmed that although Banu was neither a board member nor a signatory to the Board’s accounts, he signed documents requesting the release of SUBEB funds and documents seeking the N1 billion loan from the SUBEB counterpart fund.
He added that the relevant documents had already been tendered before the court.
Following the conclusion of the defence’s cross-examination, prosecution counsel, Adebisi Adeniyi, from the chambers of Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), informed the court that the next prosecution witness, a banker, was unavailable because he was testifying in another court.
He consequently applied for an adjournment, which was granted without objection from the defence.
Justice Abdulgafar thereafter discharged PW6 and adjourned the case until November 9, 2026, for the continuation of trial.
