EFCC charged these five ex-governors with corruption —here’s how their cases have unfolded

Since the beginning of 2024, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has brought five former state governors to face trial, adding to the roll call of highest-profile public officers the agency has prosecuted since inception.

The five defendants, who lost immunity from prosecution as they stepped down after eight years of governing their respective states, are former Governors Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State, Willie Obiano of Anambra State, Yahaya Bello of Kogi State and Darius Ishaku of Taraba and Theodore Orji of Abia State.

Three of them – Mr Obiano, Mr Ahmed, and Mr Bello – who were arraigned in various courts in the first half of 2024, joined 30 former governors who have faced prosecution by the EFCC since its inception in 2004.

In the second half of the year, the list grew to 34 with the arraignment of former Governor Ishaku. It increased to 35 after the commission arraigned Mr Orji in February this year.

Some of the older cases have ended in convictions, acquittals, or outright dismissal at preliminary stages. While some ongoing ones have lingered for over a decade, the status of others is unclear.

The five new cases have taken varying time lags, ranging from a few months to years, for the defendants to be charged after they left office.

The ex-governors face charges involving diversion of public funds for personal use, including buying houses for themselves, in some cases. The charges include breach of trust, money laundering, theft, and fraud, among others.

As expected, they pleaded not guilty in various courts, initiating full-scale trials that are now beginning to take shape.

PREMIUM TIMES brings a recap of the trials so far, amid waning public interest and fading memory about the cases whose details once jarred the public.

Abdulfatah Ahmed

Mr Ahmed served as the Governor of Kwara State, North-central Nigeria, from 2011 to 2019.

After a protracted investigation marked by a series of interrogations and detention, the EFCC finally charged him in 2024, six years after his tenure ended.

EFCC preferred 14 counts of theft and mismanaging N5.78 billion in universal basic education funds against him. The money was allegedly released to the state from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) for primary and junior secondary school projects between 2013 and 2015.

In April 2024, EFCC arraigned the former governor alongside his then-Commissioner for Finance, Ademola Banu, before trial judge Evelyn Anyadike of the Federal High Court in Ilorin, Kwara State. They pleaded not guilty to the charges.

But a reshuffling of judges, which took Ms Anyadike out of the Kwara State Division of the court, saw to the re-assignment of the case to a new judge.

It’s a rule in Nigerian courts that a criminal trial must start afresh once a new judge takes over the case for whatever reason, no matter the stage the trial has reached. The only exception is if the former judge already finished writing the judgement and what is pending is for the verdict to be read.

Therefore, EFCC re-arraigned the former governor and his co-defendant before a new judge, Mahmud Abdulgafar, in October 2024, when the former governor, again, pleaded “not guilty” to all the charges.

So far, the prosecution has called six witnesses to prove its case.

Abubakar Hassan, an assistant director of finance at UBEC, appeared as the first prosecution witness in December 2024 and in February this year, testifying about how Mr Ahmed’s administration allegedly diverted funds meant for 51 UBEC projects in Kwara.

“My lord, the Projects Monitoring Committee conducted investigations and found that many projects were either unexecuted or abandoned,” Mr Hassan stated.

He added that in May 2018, UBEC wrote to Mr Ahmed, demanding an explanation, but received no response.

Also testifying, Musa Dasuki, a retired Permanent Secretary at the Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), said that the diversion of UBEC funds resulted in the abandonment of 51 UBEC projects approved under the 2013 Action Plan.

Mr Dasuki recalled how Mr Ahmed’s administration requested to use UBEC’s funds to pay teachers’ salaries, promising to pay back after receiving the federal allocation.

He also said that despite initial objection, UBEC approved the release of the funds to the Kwara State Government, but the repayment never happened.

A former chairman of the Kwara SUBEB, Lanre Daibu, and the Accountant General of Kwara State between 2013 and 2019, Suleiman Ishola, both testified in April. Their testimonies elaborated on various aspects of Mr Dasuki’s earlier evidence.

However, during cross-examination by the defence, Mr Daibu explained that the funds were deposited into the state government’s account, not a personal one.

The trial is scheduled to continue on 10 and 11 June.

Willie Obiano

Mr Obiano was elected twice on the platform of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) as the Governor of Anambra State, South-east Nigeria, superintending over the state from 2014 to 2022.

Hours after he handed over on 17 March 2022 after completing his second term in office, EFCC operatives arrested him at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, while he was about to board a flight to Houston, the United States.

The commission released him only after five days of interrogation.

But he was not charged until almost two years after.

The EFCC arraigned him in January 2024 at the Federal High Court in Abuja, accusing him of diverting N4 billion between 2017 and 2022 from Anambra State’s security account.

The commission alleged that the funds were diverted through 23 companies, converted to dollars and handed over to the former governor.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The legal proceedings against Mr Obiano were characterised by initial hiccups.

On 4 March 2024, he filed a motion contesting the court’s jurisdiction.

The anti-graft agency filed a counter-affidavit. The judge, Inyang Ekwo, ruled against Mr Obiano, affirming the court’s authority to entertain the case.

At some point, the EFCC complained about the difficulty in serving a court filing on the defence team.

Meanwhile, the case is pressing on. The trial is currently at the prosecution stage with 10 prosecution witnesses already called to testify.

Andrew Ali, the head of licence office at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), testifying as a prosecution witness, told the court that three out of the companies used to siphon the funds were unlicensed by the CBN to carry out Bureau de Change (BDC). The companies are Connaught International Service, SY Panda Enterprise and Zirga Zirga Trading Company Limited.

Another witness, a general contractor and owner of Youdooh Ventures Limited, Udochukwu Okparache, testified that his company’s account received N860 million from the Anambra State Government during Mr Obiano’s administration without bidding for any contract.

Mr Okparache told the court that the former governor’s wife, Eberechi Obiano, was one of the beneficiaries of the suspicious deposit.

The judge, Inyang Ekwo, fixed 26, 27, and 28 May for continuation of trial. But the future of the case has plunged into uncertainties, with last week’s suspension of the trial judge for misconduct for a year. The case has to start afresh if another judge is asked to take it up. It means all the 10 prosecution witnesses that have already testified have to return to court to give their evidence afresh. The other option is to let the judge’s suspension run out for him to return to continue the trial from where he stopped.

Yahaya Bello

Former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello was arraigned on corruption charges in Abuja last year, after months of hide-and-seek and legal tactics aimed at ending the trial before it started.

Long before the end of Mr Bello’s eight-year tenure as governor, spanning from 2016 to 2024, EFCC had kept an eye on him and his administration, with detectives following money trails believed to have emanated from the state’s coffers.

So, in 2022, two years before the end of Mr Bello’s tenure, the anti-graft agency charged his nephew, Ali Bello, who was not under any immunity, with alleged fraud involving N10 billion belonging to Kogi State. Later in 2023, the EFCC, again, charged Ali, who is the Chief of Staff to incumbent Governor Usman Ododo, with N3 billion fraud. The commission arraigned Ali before two separate judges of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Shortly after Mr Bello completed his second term in January 2024, now stripped of immunity from prosecution, the EFCC filed N80 billion money laundering charges against him at the Federal High Court in Abuja, and months later, N110 billion fraud charges against him at the FCT High Court in Abuja.

But bringing him to court for trial proved difficult, with the drive to prosecute him leading to confrontations, including a shooting spree.

On 17 April, the anti-graft agency laid a siege to his house in Abuja to arrest him based on a warrant it obtained from the trial court the previous day. After about seven hours of stand-off between EFCC operatives and police officers on guard at the house, Mr Bello slipped away in the convoy of his successor, Governor Ododo, who suddenly emerged on the scene.

On the same day, the Kogi State High Court restrained EFCC from arresting, detaining and prosecuting him. However, the commission brushed aside the court order, insisting its action was based on the legitimate order of a court with coordinate jurisdiction.

A day after the failed attempt to arrest the former governor, EFCC declared him wanted following his failure to appear in court, and later threatened to use the military to bring him to court.

Mr Bello repeatedly snubbed court sessions seven times, accusing the EFCC of trying to arrest him forcefully and illegally.

The stalemate stretched on for months, while a series of legal proceedings initiated by Mr Bello to thwart the trial unfolded at the Federal High Court in Abuja, the Kogi State High Court and the Court of Appeal.

In August, the Court of Appeal in Abuja ordered him to submit himself to the EFCC and the Federal High Court for arraignment, ending his hopes of getting a legal reprieve from prosecution.

Then on 18 September, Mr Bello suddenly appeared in company with Governor Ododo on the premises of EFCC headquarters in Abuja, purportedly to surrender to the commission.

Curiously, EFCC refused to arrest Mr Bello, allowing him to strut around its compound for more than an hour. The agency’s operatives rather opted, by night that day, to apprehend him at the Kogi State Government Lodge in Asokoro, Abuja, where he was being sheltered by the state government.

A confrontation ensued at the lodge, with EFCC operatives and security guards attached to the place engaging in a shootout. During the milieu, Mr Bello again slipped away in Governor Ododo’s convoy.

On 26 November, Mr Bello finally surrendered to EFCC ahead of the following day’s proceedings of the FCT High Court in Abuja scheduled for his arraignment.

At the 27 November proceedings, the EFCC arraigned Mr Bello and two co-defendants on 16 counts of N110 billion corruption charges. The anti-graft agency earlier filed the charges on 24 September.

The charges include criminal breach of trust involving the alleged diversion of more than N110 billion entrusted in Mr Bello’s care as Kogi State governor.

The anti-graft agency said Mr Bello and his co-defendants diverted this fund in 2016, his first year in office.

It also alleged in various counts that Mr Bello dishonestly acquired for himself properties located in choice areas of Abuja and Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with funds he allegedly diverted from the state government’s treasury.

For instance, the commission said the former Kogi State governor took N100 million from the government’s treasury to buy himself a property at 1160 Cadastral Zone C03, Gwarimpa II, Abuja, in 2021.

The charges further alleged he bought another property at 35, Danubi Street, Maitama, Abuja, for himself with N950 million belonging to the state in 2023.

He allegedly bought another one at 2, Justice Chukwudifu Oputa Street, Asokoro, Abuja, with N920 million belonging to the state in 2020.

The two co-defendants—Umar Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu— were accused of conspiring with Mr Bello to perpetrate the alleged fraud.

The former governor and his two co-defendants pleaded not guilty to all the counts read to them before the trial judge, Maryanne Anenih.

The judge initially denied Mr Bello bail, sent him to prison and did not order his release until nine days after.

In January 2025, a witness, Fabian Nworah, a property developer with Efab Property Nigeria Limited, testified in court about a deal involving a N550 million property at No 1 Ikogosi Street, Maitama, Abuja. However, he did not mention Mr Bello’s name.

The judge fixed 6 May for continuation of hearing.

The other case involves money laundering charges, accusing Mr Bello of diverting N80.2 billion in Kogi State’s funds. EFCC alleged in the case that Mr Bello paid $720,000 in advance school fees for his children. The anti-graft agency alleged that the former governor paid money in instalments between September 2021 to January 2022. The agency described the money paid to the school as part of proceeds of unlawful activities.

The prosecution has called three witnesses, so far.

The first prosecution witness was an auditor at the American International School, Abuja, Nicholas Ojehomon, who confirmed the payment of school fees for four of the former governor’s children.

In February, the first prosecution witness, Segun Adeleke, General Manager of EFAB Properties Limited, testified on the purchase of some properties which the EFCC alleged in the charges were acquired with Kogi State’s funds for Mr Bello.

The witness confirmed that the property at House 12, 59 Crescent, Fifth Avenue, Gwarimpa, Abuja, was purchased by one Nuhu Mohammed for N70 million. He explained that the payment was made via bank transfer and that his company issued relevant documents, including proof of payment and letters of allocation.

He said EFAB Properties received N550 million for another transaction, adding that the company followed its standard procedure in processing the transaction, including documents signed by its chairperson.

When asked whether he could identify the origin of the N70 million transfer, Mr Adeleke admitted he did not know its source.

At the same proceedings, the EFCC called its second witness, Williams Abimbola, a compliance officer at the Area 3, Garki, Abuja branch of the United Bank for Africa (UBA).

Mr Abimbola, who appeared on subpoena, presented a copy of the subpoena, which was admitted as Exhibit 1 without objection from the defence.

The prosecution also tendered the statement of account and the account opening package for Kogi State Government House covering 1 January 2016 to 31 January 2024. The document was admitted as Exhibits 2P1 to P61.

The EFCC also presented the statements of account and account opening package for American International School, Abuja, Account No. 1000684346, covering 1 September 2020, to 30 September 2020. These were admitted as Exhibits 521-5277, while the statement of account was marked as Exhibits 621-622.

On 7 March, the judge fixed 8 May for ruling on the admissibility of an FCT High Court judgement sought to be tendered by Mr Bello.

The judgement was given in suit FCT/HC/CV/2574/2023 filed by Ali (Mr Bello’s nephew) and the American International School Abuja. The judgement, according to Mr Bello’s legal team, had made pronouncements concerning Mr Bello’s children’s school fees payment and refund.

Darius Ishaku

Darius Ishaku was Taraba State’s governor from 2015 to 2023, having been elected twice on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.

In September 2024, the EFCC arrested Mr Ishaku and arraigned him in October before the FCT High Court on 15 counts, including criminal breach of trust, conspiracy and conversion of public funds amounting to N27 billion.

He was arraigned alongside his administration’s Permanent Secretary of the state’s Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Bello Yero.

They were accused of diverting the money from the contingency funds belonging to the state’s Bureau of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and certain local governments of the states into their private uses.

The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Mr Ishaku challenged the jurisdiction of the court to hear the matter in November 2024. However, the case has continued in court as the prosecution is still calling witnesses.

In January 2025, a prosecution witness narrated how Mr Ishaku gave him $5,000 to relocate to Lagos to evade EFCC arrest.

The witness, Ismail Lawal, told the court that he worked as a system analyst in 2011 with Excelarc Partners, a company owned by the former Taraba State governor.

The witness said that when Mr Ishaku became governor in 2015, he invited him to work with him as a personal assistant.

“I was in charge of the former governor’s emails. I ran errands for him as well as collected money from the accounts section of the government house in Jalingo and followed the governor’s instructions on what to do with the money,” he said.

Mr Lawal added that he was paid a monthly salary of N130,000 in cash by the former governor.

“I was informed that the EFCC needed me for questioning on June 12, 2021.

“I was ready to show up, but I was later told by the former governor not to appear in the EFCC office. He said I should stay away.

“I was in Lagos for close to two years. I moved from one hotel to another. I don’t know how the EFCC officials traced my whereabouts to my hotel in Magodo, Lagos,” he said.

The witness said that he was transferred to Abuja from Lagos upon his arrest.

”I was shown a CCTV footage of how I collected money from the UBA branch at Jabi in Abuja and also shown my bank statement in Zenith Bank current and savings accounts,” he said.

The prosecution lawyer, Rotimi Jacobs, a SAN, tendered the statements of account of the witness. The judge, Sylvania Oriji, admitted the documents as exhibits after overruling the objection from the defence.

Mr Lawal, the prosecution witness, told the court that each time money was paid into his account, he got a call from either the permanent secretary, Government House, Jalingo, Chindo Audu, or the Director of Finance, Galenya Lydia.

“They always tell me that they sent money meant for His Excellency and that I should withdraw and give it to him (Ishaku),” he said.

At the subsequent court proceedings in March, Mr Ishaku failed to appear in court for health reasons.