Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja has rescheduled the ongoing trial of former governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano, on allegations of corruption, brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Obiano, who was arraigned on January 24, is facing nine charges of diversion of over N4bn (N4,006,573,350) from the state’s account dedicated to security funds in his last five years in office.
EFCC alleged that the Ex-Anambra state governor from March 2014 to March 2022, directed the diversion of the money from the state’s account between April 2017 and March 2022.
The trial was earlier adjourned till Oct 7 (today), 8, 9 and 10 October.
However, it has been rescheduled to November 13 and 14.
NewsNGR reports that the trial was shifted as the Presiding Judge, Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo will be attending a seminar at the National Justice Institute (NJI), Abuja.
The anti-graft agency had accused Obiano of spending the money for “purposes unrelated/unconnected with the security affairs of Anambra State”.
They further alleged that the funds were diverted through companies “that had no business relationship with the Anambra State Government. It said the funds were then converted to dollars and handed over to the then-governor in cash.
The former governor allegedly stole the money over five years by instructing his Chief Protocol Officer/Deputy Chief of Staff, Uzuegbuna Okagbue, to transfer various sums of money from the state on various occasions.
So far, the EFCC through its lawyer, Sylvanus Tahir, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, has presented four witnesses, who have testified their involvement in the case, including a former bank manager at Fidelity Bank, Tochukwu Nnadi, and an Onitsha-based businesswoman, Chinwe Patricia Egbunam.
Other witnesses are; a former fidelity bank staff, Ugochukwu Chinedu Otubelu and Hayatu Hassan, a Bureau De Change (BDC) operator.