Major witnesses to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), at the ongoing legal battle between the anti-graft body and the former governor in Kwara State Mallam Ahmed Abdulfatai and his commissioner for Finance, Ademola Banu, did not show up in court, on Monday, thereby forcing adjournment to October 9, this year.

Ahmed and Banuu are being prosecuted over alleged diversion of over N5.78 billion fund of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) for payment of salary of the state civil servants.

At the brief rounding off of cross examination of a prosecution witness, Stanley Ujilibo, the prosecution counsel, Adebisi Adeniyi, told the court that the next witnesses were unavoidably absent and requested for an adjournment when the witnesses would be available.

Before the adjournment, Ujilibo, during cross examinations by Kamaldeen Ajibade (SAN), the lead counsel to the first defendant, Ahmed, told the court he would not know if one Ayoola Idowu, a civil servant that petitioned the EFCC about the alleged diversion benefited from the fund as salary payment to him.

Ajibade requested whether Idowu benefitted from the fund allegedly used to pay the salary of the civil servants.

Also, the witness, in a cross-examination by Gboyega Oyewole (SAN), the counsel for Banu, could not point out any document showing that the second defendant as the commissioner for finance borrowed money from the SUBEB fund.

When asked to go through the exhibits before the court, Ujilibo pointed out a letter by Banu to the first defendant requesting that the state should pay its counterpart fund to the SUBEB.

When the second defendant’s counsel said the letter did not talk about borrowing but payment of funds, the witness hinted that another letter from the exhibit which talks about borrowing was signed by someone else and not the second defendant.

The request of the prosecution counsel for adjournment was not opposed by the counsel for the first and second defendants, forcing Justice Mahmud Abdulgafar to adjourn till November 9th.