By Ahmed ‘Lateef
An Ilorin High Court has remanded six staff of Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board (KWSUBEB) in the Nigerian Correctional Centre, Oke-Kura, Ilorin for their alleged involvement in N96million fraud.
The order to remand the defendants was sequel to their arraignment before Justice Suleiman Akanbi of the state High Court by the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Those arraigned include Director of Finance and Supply of the board, Ahmed Husain Olarewaju; Controller, Finance and Accounts, Omole Omololu John; Coordinator, Salary Unit, Fatai Oyerinde; Executive Officer, Account and Salary Schedule, Mujeeb Ibrahim and as well as two staff of Salary Unit of the board, Salami Temitope Bashir and Dauda Aweda Quozim.
Justice Akanbi while ordering the remand of the defendants, adjourned the case to Wednesday, April 16, 2025 for trial, notwithstanding the defence counsel’s oral application to grant them bail.
The six defendants are being prosecuted on a four-count charge of breach of trust and misappropriation of funds to the tune of N96million.
During the arraignment, the anti-graft agency alleged that the defendants, in their various capacities, conspired between 2018 -2020 to convert public funds belonging to the Kwara State government for their personal use and shared the proceeds among themselves.
One of the charges reads: “That you, Ahmed Husain Olarewaju, Omole Omololu, Fatai Oyerinde, Mujeeb Ibrahim and Bashir Temitope Salami, between September, 2018 and December, 2018 at Ilorin, within the judicial division of the Kwara State High Court, being public officers in the service of the Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board (KWSUBEB) and in such capacity entrusted with a certain property to wit; the gross sum of N33,891,982.37 (Thirty Three Million, Eight Hundred and Ninety-One Thousand, Nine Hundred and Eighty Two Naira, Thirty Seven Kobo) which sum formed part of the Kwara State SUBEB funds in account No: 0031236028 domiciled at Sterling Bank Plc, and you thereby committed the offence of criminal breach of trust in respect of the said property punishable under Section 315 of the Penal Code”.
Another charge reads: “That you, Ahmed Husain Olarewaju, Omole Omololu, Fatai Oyerinde, Mujeeb Ibrahim and Bashir Temitope Salami, between January 2019 and June, 2019 of Ilorin, within the judicial division of the Kwara State High Court, being public officers in the service of the Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board and in such capacity entrusted with a certain property to wit: the gross sum of N30,406,629.09 (Thirty Million, Four Hundred and Six Thousand, Six Hundred and Twenty Nine Naira, Nine Kobo) which sum formed part of the Kwara State SUBEB funds in account no: 0031236028 domiciled at Stealing Bank Plc, and you thereby committed the offence of criminal breach of trust in respect of the said property punishable under Section 315 of the Penal Code.”
They pleaded “not guilty”, when the charges were read to them, following which prosecution counsel, Andrew Akoja, asked the court for a trial date and for the defendants to be remanded in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Centre, while counsel to the defendants, led by Abdullahi Lawal made oral bail applications to their clients.
