The Federal High Court in Abuja has ruled that former Benue State governor, Senator Gabriel Suswam, has a case to answer in connection with the alleged diversion of N3.1 billion during his time in office.
Justice Peter Lifu, in a ruling delivered on Wednesday, dismissed a no-case submission filed by Senator Suswam and his former commissioner for finance, Omodachi Okolobia, who are standing trial on an 11-count amended charge brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
According to the court, the EFCC had presented sufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case against the defendants, thereby requiring them to open their defence.
The judge subsequently fixed September 22 for Suswam and Okolobia to begin presenting their case.
The EFCC initially arraigned the duo in 2015 for allegedly laundering about N3.1 billion proceeds from the sale of shares owned by the Benue State government and Benue Investment and Property Company Ltd.
The funds were allegedly funneled through two companies, Elixir Securities Ltd and Elixir Investment Partners Ltd.
They were re-arraigned on November 2, 2020, on an amended charge which detailed how the funds were purportedly mismanaged.
One of the charges alleged that Okolobia alone handled over N578 million in cash transactions across four tranches between December 2014 and January 2015, in violation of the money laundering (Prohibition) Act, which limits the volume of lawful cash transactions.
Suswam and Okolobia had filed a no-case submission under Sections 302 and 303 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, urging the court to dismiss the case on the grounds that the EFCC failed to provide credible evidence linking them to the alleged offences.
However, the EFCC maintained that both documentary and oral testimonies from witnesses established the defendants’ involvement, a position Justice Lifu ultimately upheld.
Suswam, who governed Benue State from 2007 to 2015, currently represents Benue North-East in the Senate.
He and his co-defendant remain on bail as the trial proceeds.