The Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arraigned six officials of the Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board before the State High Court in Ilorin over the alleged misappropriation of N96m.
The defendants — Ahmed Olarewaju, Omole Omololu, Fatai Oyerinde, Mujeeb Ibrahim, Salami Bashir, and Dauda Quozim — were arraigned before Justice Suleiman Akanbi on a four-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust and misappropriation of public funds.
According to a statement by the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, on Tuesday, the officials, who served in various capacities at SUBEB, allegedly conspired between 2018 and 2020 to divert government funds for personal use.
One of the charges read, “That you, Ahmed Husain Olarewaju, Omole Omololu, Fatai Oyerinde, Mujeeb Ibrahim, and Bashir Temitope Salami, between September 2018 and December 2018, while being public officers entrusted with the sum of N33,891,982.37 from the Kwara SUBEB account domiciled in Sterling Bank Plc, committed a criminal breach of trust, an offence punishable under Section 315 of the Penal Code.”
Another count accused them of misappropriating N30,406,629.09 from the same account between January and June 2019.
The defendants pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Following their plea, the prosecution counsel, Andrew Akoja, requested a trial date and urged the court to remand the defendants to a federal correctional facility.
However, defence counsel, Abdullahi Lawal, made an oral application for bail.
Justice Akanbi adjourned the case to April 16, 2025, for further hearing and ordered that the defendants be remanded at the Nigerian Correctional Centre in Ilorin.
