The trial of former Anambra governor Willie Obiano has been placed on indefinite hold after prosecutors requested a suspension to allow the original trial judge to return and conclude the high-profile case.
The court granted the adjournment on Tuesday following a formal request from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) legal team, led by S.O. Obila.
Obila told Justice Mohammed Umar that the lead prosecuting lawyer, Sylvanus Tahir, had formally asked for an “adjournment sine die,” noting that nine witnesses had already testified before Justice Ekwo prior to the case being reassigned.
“In the light of this, I have the instruction of the lead prosecuting counsel in this case, Mr Sylvanus Tahir (SAN), to apply to the Chief Judge that since we had called nine witnesses before the previous judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo, we should wait for him to return and conclude the matter,” Obila said.
Defence counsel Onyechi Ikpeazu did not oppose the application prompting the judge after hearing both sides adjourned the case indefinitely.
Obiano was arraigned on January 24, 2024 on charges alleging the laundering of N4bn belonging to the Anambra State Government including claims that more than N1.2bn in security vote funds was transferred to a private company with no official affiliation.
The EFCC also alleged that proxy accounts linked to Sauki Bureau De Change and Zigaziga Trading and Company Ltd were used to channel public funds as earlier detailed in testimony from Bureau De Change operator, Ayuba Tanko who told the court he received N416m through those accounts during the administration.
Tanko however said during cross-examination that he never dealt directly with Obiano even as the prosecution maintained that the transactions formed part of a broader pattern of diversion involving security vote allocations and associated financial instructions.
The former governor’s legal team had previously sought to quash the charges arguing that no credible evidence linked him personally to the disbursement of state funds and describing the EFCC’s case as an abuse of judicial process lacking any legal foundation.
Justice Ekwo dismissed that application ruling that the EFCC retains statutory authority to investigate and prosecute financial crimes and noting that the sufficiency of evidence cannot be evaluated at a preliminary stage before a full trial is heard.
The proceedings have faced multiple delays including an earlier challenge to the court’s jurisdiction which was eventually struck out after the judge found that the objection lacked merit and sustained the EFCC’s mandate to continue the prosecution.
Obiano was placed on the anti-graft agency’s watchlist shortly after leaving office in 2022 and was arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos days later, an event that set the stage for the extensive investigation now suspended.
With Tuesday’s ruling the matter will remain dormant until Justice Ekwo becomes available to resume hearing leaving one of the most closely watched corruption trials of the past two years effectively paused.
