A Federal High Court in Ilorin has granted bail to a former Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed.
Ahmed was on Friday, February 23, 2024, granted bail in the sum of N50 million with two sureties that have landed properties in Ilorin, the State capital.
The court ordered the former governor to deposit his passport with the court as part of his bail conditions.
Ahmed was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on corruption charges on Friday morning.
The anti-graft agency had accused the former governor of spending the sum of N1,610,730,500.00 meant for the security and running cost in the state to charter private jets when he was in power.
The agency revealed this in a document, adding that the former governor would be arraigned on alleged N10 billion fraud.
In one of the counts against Ahmed, he was accused of fraudulently converting N400 million of a N1 billion short-term loan received by the Kwara State Government from Ecobank Nigeria Limited to complete ongoing projects in the state.
The EFCC said, “Ahmed (while serving as the Governor of Kwara State) between 2015 and 2019 in Ilorin within the jurisdiction of this honourable court used an aggregate sum of N1,610,730,500, property of Kwara State Government, meant for the security and running cost of the Government of Kwara State, to charter private jets through Travel Messengers Limited on different occasions for your local travels and which sum you reasonably ought to have known formed part of the proceeds of your unlawful act, to wit: criminal breach of trust or theft.”
Ahmed served as the state finance commissioner when Dr Bukola Saraki was the governor.
He succeeded Saraki in office and governed Kwara from 2011 to 2019.
Source: SaharaReporters
