The Federal High Court in Abuja has postponed the continuation of the money laundering case against Willie Obiano, the former Governor of Anambra State. The trial, brought forward by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has been rescheduled to November 13, 2024.
Justice Inyang Ekwo, who is overseeing the case, was unavailable as he was attending a seminar at the National Judicial Institute (NJI) in Abuja. As a result, the court was unable to proceed with the hearing as planned. The judge had previously set the date for October 7 after the EFCC had presented witnesses and evidence at the last hearing.
During earlier proceedings in June, the EFCC had called two key witnesses to testify about the alleged mismanagement of Anambra State’s funds during Obiano’s administration. One of the witnesses, Mr. Ugochukwu Otubelu, a former staff member of a commercial bank, testified regarding his role in managing the state’s security vote account during Obiano’s tenure.
Otubelu, who now operates as a businessman, explained that the security vote account had two key signatories: the former Principal Secretary to the Governor, Willy Nwokoye, and the state’s Accountant, Theophilus Nweze.
Otubelu revealed that large sums of money from the security vote account were transferred to the accounts of six different companies. However, he stated that the actual account holders did not receive the funds directly. His testimony provided insight into how transactions were handled under Obiano’s administration.
Another witness, Mr. Hayatu Hadejia, who operates several Bureau De Change (BDC) companies, was also called by the EFCC to testify. Hadejia said he was invited by the anti-graft agency as part of their investigation into the financial activities under Obiano’s leadership. After his testimony, Justice Ekwo released Hadejia from the witness stand.
Obiano, who served as governor from March 2014 to March 2022, faces a nine-count charge. The charges accuse him of misappropriating over N4 billion from the state’s treasury during his time in office.
