More than 11 years after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission arraigned former Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswam, and his former Commissioner for Finance, Omodachi Oklobia, over an alleged N3.1 billion fraud, the high-profile corruption case is yet to be concluded.
The case, currently before Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has become one of the longest-running corruption trials involving a former governor in Nigeria, having suffered repeated adjournments, judicial reassignments, interlocutory applications and procedural delays.
The EFCC first arraigned Suswam and Oklobia on November 4, 2015, on allegations bordering on money laundering and diversion of proceeds from the sale of Benue State Government shares in Dangote Cement Plc through the Benue Investment and Property Company Limited.
The anti-graft agency alleged that the proceeds of the sale, amounting to N3.1 billion, were unlawfully diverted through various channels for personal use.
Over the years, the trial has been slowed by changes in judges and related applications.
The case was initially assigned to Justice Ahmed Mohammed, who withdrew from the proceedings in 2016 following reports alleging that he had been compromised to grant Suswam a favourable outcome. However, after interventions by parties through the then Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta (retd.), Justice Mohammed resumed hearing the matter.
In 2019, Justice Mohammed again stepped aside after another publication questioned his impartiality. The case was then reassigned to Justice Okon Abang, who began hearing the matter and received evidence from some prosecution witnesses.
However, following an appeal filed by Suswam challenging Justice Mohammed’s withdrawal, the Court of Appeal ordered that the case file be returned to the original trial judge.
The matter suffered another setback in 2023 when Justice Mohammed was elevated to the Court of Appeal, making it necessary for the case to be reassigned afresh to Justice Lifu.
Despite the delays, the EFCC eventually closed its case after calling nine witnesses, including investigators, officials of the Benue State Ministry of Finance, stockbroking representatives and a bureau de change operator.
On July 23, 2025, Justice Lifu dismissed the no-case submission filed by the defendants and held that the prosecution had established a prima facie case requiring them to enter their defence.
The court subsequently fixed September 25, 2025, for the commencement of defence, but the proceedings did not progress as expected.
On November 25, 2025, the matter was adjourned to January 20, 2026, for the adoption of final written addresses. It was later shifted to May 29, 2026, but could not proceed because the court did not sit.
The matter has now been adjourned to July 17, 2026.
The prolonged trial has continued to attract attention, particularly because the prosecution has closed its case and the court has already dismissed the defendants’ no-case submission.
Lawyers say the delay reflects the broader challenges affecting the speedy determination of corruption cases in Nigeria’s judicial system.
Suswam, who governed Benue State between 2007 and 2015, has remained politically active and has reportedly secured a ticket to contest for a senatorial seat in the next election while the criminal proceedings remain pending.
The EFCC maintains that the former governor and his co-defendant have questions to answer over the alleged diversion of public funds, while the defendants have continued to deny any wrongdoing.
With the case now scheduled for further proceedings before Justice Lifu, attention will be on whether the court can finally bring the decade-old trial to a conclusion.
The post “11 Years After Arraignment” — Ex-Benue Governor Suswam’s N3.1bn Fraud Trial Yet To End Amid Adjournments, Judicial Reassignments appeared first on TheNigeriaLawyer.
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