A Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday shifted till November 13 the alleged money laundering charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against former Anambra State Governor Willie Obiano for continuation of trial.
The matter, which is before Justice Inyang Ekwo, could not proceed because the court did not sit.
The judge was said to be attending a seminar at the National Judicial Institute (NJI) in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Justice Ekwo had, on June 26, fixed yesterday for the continuation of trial after the anti-graft agency’s lawyer, Sylvanus Tahir (SAN), led two witnesses in evidence in the trial of the ex-governor.
A former commercial bank official, Mr. Ugochukwu Otubelu, had revealed how he managed the security vote account under Obiano’s government.
Otubelu, the third prosecution witness (PW3), said though he was with the bank between November 2, 2008 and March 24, 2023, said he is now a businessman.
The witness said the signatories to the security vote account were the former Principal Secretary to the ex-governor, Willy Nwokoye, and the Accountant, Theophilus Nweze.
He said he interfaced with them mostly on daily and weekly bases in processing their transactions.
Otubelu, who admitted that funds from the security votes account went into six companies’ account, said the money did not go to the account holders.
The EFCC also called Hayatu Hadejia, a Bureau De Change (BDC) operator as PW4.
Hadejia described himself as a businessman running BDC firms.
The witness said he had five companies and was invited by the EFCC as part of its investigations into the financial activities of ex-Governor Obiano’s administration.
After giving his testimony and was cross-examined by Obiano’s lawyer, Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), Justice Ekwo discharged Hadejia from the witness box and fixed October 7, October 8, October 9, and October 10 for continuation of trial.
NAN reports that Obiano was Anambra State governor between March 2014 and March 2022.
The former governor, in a nine-count charge, was alleged to have, among others, misappropriated over N4 billion from the state’s treasury.