The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday, adjourned the trial of former Governor of Benue, Gabriel Suswam  until Jan. 20, 2026 for adoption of final written address.

Justice Peter Lifu adjourned the matter after Suswam and his co-defendant, Omodachi Okolobia, the then Commissioner for Finance in Benue, closed their defence in the money laundering trial

Justice Lifu gave the EFCC, the prosecuting agency, 14 days to file and serve their final written address and 14 days for the defendants to respond upon service before adjournment.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Suswam and Okolobia are facing an 11-count amended charge.

The offences bordered on alleged misappropriation of N3.1 billion said to be part of proceeds from the sale of shares owned by the Benue State Government through the Benue Investment and Property Company Limited.

The transactions were allegedly carried out through Elixir Securities Limited and Elixir Investment Partners Limited.

The EFCC had closed its case after calling nine witnesses.

But instead of the defendants to open their defence, they opted for a no-case-submission, arguing that they did not have a case to answer on the alleged diversion of the public funds.

Justice Lifu, however, in a ruling on July 23, dismissed the no-case submission filed by Suswam and his co-defendant and ordered them to open their defence.

According to the judge, the totality of evidence the anti-graft agency adduced before the court established a prima facie case that warranted an explanation from the defendants.

He held that the no-case submission lacked merit.

Suswam, who piloted the affairs of Benue from 2007 to 2015, alongside his co-defendant, had in the application they anchored on Sections 302 and 303 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, prayed the court to terminate further proceedings on the case against them.

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They contended that the EFCC failed, by way of credible evidence, to link them with allegations it raised in the charge before the court.

Their request was, however, opposed by the prosecution, which insisted that both documentary and oral evidence of witnesses that testified in the matter nailed the defendants to the alleged crime.

Delivering his ruling, Justice Lifu held that he found no merit in the defendants’ applications and accordingly dismissed them.

“Consequently, upon my conclusion on the above stated, the defendants’ no-case submission is hereby refused and dismissed.

“The defendants are hereby called upon to enter their various defences,” Justice Lifu held.

The EFCC had, in 2015, charged the erstwhile governor and his former commissioner of finance to court following an allegation that they looted proceeds of shares owned by the Benue government and Benue Investment and Property Company Ltd.

EFCC alleged that the duo laundered about N3.1 billion using two companies—Elixir Securities Limited and Elixir Investment Partners Limited—as their conduit pipes.

The defendants were subsequently re-arraigned before the court on Nov. 2, 2020.

In the amended charge, the EFCC, among other things, alleged that the 2nd defendant, Okolobia, transacted a total sum of N578 million in four tranches, in excess of the threshold of cash transactions permitted by the money laundering law.

He was said to have committed the offences between December 2014 and January 2015.

The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charge, and the court ordered their release on bail, pending the determination of the case.

(NAN)

The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Friday, adjourned the trial-within-trial of five defendants who allegedly bombed the United Nations (UN) House in Abuja until Dec. 5.

Justice Emeka Nwite fixed the date after the video evidence of the 1st defendant was played and watched in the courtroom.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the trial-within-trial is to determine the genuiness or otherwise of the allegations by the defendants that they made their extra-judicial statements to the Department of State Service (DSS) under duress.

The five terror suspects led by Khalid Al‑Barnawi are accused by DSS of being the masterminds of the Aug. 26, 2011 bombing of the UN Complex in Abuja, during which 20 people were killed and more than 70 others injured.

Captured in 2016, Al-Barnawi is facing trial along with four other defendants, including Mohammed Bashir Saleh; Umar Mohammed Bello, aka Datti; Mohammed Salisu, and Yakubu Nuhu, aka Bello Maishayi.

The trial had been delayed for an extended period due to legal and procedural issues, including the suspects being occasionally brought to court without any counsel appearing for them.

The DSS recently sought an accelerated hearing in the case, a request Justice Nwite granted.

At Friday’s proceedings, three video clips on how the statements of Al-Barnawi were played in the open court by DSS lawyers to debunk the allegations of defendants that their statements were not made voluntarily.

After the conclusion of video evidence of Al-Barnawi, the judge fixed Dec. 5 for the commencement of the video watch on other defendants.

Earlier on Friday, Justice Nwite, in another charge, marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/129/2014, delivered a ruling on the admissibility of exhibits tendered by the DSS against three suspected terrorists.

In the ruling, the judge admitted the extra-judicial statements made by the defendants.

The defendants are Haruna Ali Abbas, Ibrahim Hussaini Musa and Adam Sulaiman who are named as 1st to 3rd defendants respectively.

They are being tried for allegedly spying on the US, and Israel’s interests for individuals in Iran.
So
The case, which has been ongoing since 2014 and re-assigned multiple times, reached a point in August 2025 during a trial-within-trial to determine if the defendants’ alleged extra-judicial statements were made voluntarily or under dures

The defendants claimed that they were coerced, harassed and intimidated to make their statements, while the prosecution argued that the statements were made voluntarily and kept in a conducive atmosphere.

The prosecution claimed that the accused persons read through the statements, through the cautionary words and signed, hence, should be admitted in evidence.

Justice Nwite, who ordered a trial-within-trial, allowed both parties to call witnesses who gave evidence.

The prosecution who called three witnesses said they conducted their operations within the best standard procedure, as they paid attention to the welfare of suspects in their custody in terms of food and medications while also allowing them access to their families.

The defendants on the other hand recounted their alleged torture in the DSS facility, alleging that they were beaten and given inhuman treatment.

After hearing arguments from both the prosecution and defence counsel, Justice Nwite on Friday ruled that the defendants statements be admitted in evidence.

The judge held that the prosecution through the witnesses proved to the court that they were not forced to make their statements.

“In view of the foregoing, I am of the view and so hold that the extra-judicial statement of the defendant is admissible in evidence.

“Consequently, same is hereby admitted and marked as Exhibit 3 and 3A respectively,” he declared.

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Justice Nwite then adjourned the matter until Jan. 22, 2026 for substantive hearing.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

TOA

Court adjourns suspected UN House bombers’ trial-within-trial until Dec. 5

Adjournment

By Taiye Agbaje

Abuja, Nov. 21, 2025 (NAN) The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Friday, adjourned the trial-within-trial of five defendants who allegedly bombed the United Nations (UN) House in Abuja until Dec. 5.

Justice Emeka Nwite fixed the date after the video evidence of the 1st defendant was played and watched in the courtroom.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the trial-within-trial is to determine the genuiness or otherwise of the allegations by the defendants that they made their extra-judicial statements to the Department of State Service (DSS) under duress.

The five terror suspects led by Khalid Al‑Barnawi are accused by DSS of being the masterminds of the Aug. 26, 2011 bombing of the UN Complex in Abuja, during which 20 people were killed and more than 70 others injured.

Captured in 2016, Al-Barnawi is facing trial along with four other defendants, including Mohammed Bashir Saleh; Umar Mohammed Bello, aka Datti; Mohammed Salisu, and Yakubu Nuhu, aka Bello Maishayi.

The trial had been delayed for an extended period due to legal and procedural issues, including the suspects being occasionally brought to court without any counsel appearing for them.

The DSS recently sought an accelerated hearing in the case, a request Justice Nwite granted.

At Friday’s proceedings, three video clips on how the statements of Al-Barnawi were played in the open court by DSS lawyers to debunk the allegations of defendants that their statements were not made voluntarily.

After the conclusion of video evidence of Al-Barnawi, the judge fixed Dec. 5 for the commencement of the video watch on other defendants.

Earlier on Friday, Justice Nwite, in another charge, marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/129/2014, delivered a ruling on the admissibility of exhibits tendered by the DSS against three suspected terrorists.

In the ruling, the judge admitted the extra-judicial statements made by the defendants.

The defendants are Haruna Ali Abbas, Ibrahim Hussaini Musa and Adam Sulaiman who are named as 1st to 3rd defendants respectively in the eight-count charge.

They are being tried for allegedly spying on the US, and Israel’s interests for individuals in Iran.

Also, Abbas, 49 years old, was alleged to have, between 2009 to 2012, did an act in furtherance of an act of terrorism to recruit and send “one Ibrahim Husseini Musa and eight others now at large to Iran for terrorist training by an internationally suspected terrorist group known as Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, Quds Force (IRGC-QF).

The offence is contrary to Section 1 (1) (a) of the Terrorism (Prevention) Act, 2011 (as amended by the Terrorism (Prevention) (Amendment) Act, 2013) and punishable under Section 33 (1) (a) of the same Act.

The case, which has been ongoing since 2014 and re-assigned multiple times, reached a point in August 2025 during a trial-within-trial to determine if the defendants’ alleged extra-judicial statements were made voluntarily or under dures

The defendants claimed that they were coerced, harassed and intimidated to make their statements, while the prosecution argued that the statements were made voluntarily and kept in a conducive atmosphere.

The prosecution claimed that the accused persons read through the statements, through the cautionary words and signed, hence, should be admitted in evidence.

Justice Nwite, who ordered a trial-within-trial, allowed both parties to call witnesses who gave evidence.

The prosecution who called three witnesses said they conducted their operations within the best standard procedure, as they paid attention to the welfare of suspects in their custody in terms of food and medications while also allowing them access to their families.

The defendants on the other hand recounted their alleged torture in the DSS facility, alleging that they were beaten and given inhuman treatment.

After hearing arguments from both the prosecution and defence counsel, Justice Nwite on Friday ruled that the defendants statements be admitted in evidence.

The judge held that the prosecution through the witnesses proved to the court that they were not forced to make their statements.

“In view of the foregoing, I am of the view and so hold that the extra-judicial statement of the defendant is admissible in evidence.

“Consequently, same is hereby admitted and marked as Exhibit 3 and 3A respectively,” he declared.

Justice Nwite then adjourned the matter until Jan. 22, 2026 for substantive hearing.

(NAN)

The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed Nov. 26 to hear a motion seeking an order compelling the police to investigate and prosecute Mr Chijioke Nwankwoeze over alleged certificate forgery.

Nwankwoeze, a Director of Lands Administration, Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), is accused of presenting a forged Ordinary National Diploma (OND) certificate from Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin.

Justice Ekerete Akpan fixed the date following a motion ex-parte filed by the applicant; the Incorporated Trustees of Dependable Patriots for Nation Building and Transformation Initiative.

The suit, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/2050/2025, was dated and filed Sept. 26 by its team of lawyers led by Abdulkabir Badmos.

The applicant had sued the Inspector-General (I-G) of Police, Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and Mr Nwankwoeze Williamson Chijioke as 1st to 3rd defendants respectively.

It sought two reliefs, including an order of mandamus compelling the 1st and 2nd defendants to investigate and prosecute the 3rd defendant for the allegations of forgery of statement of result of Kwara State Polytechnic, llorin.

It alleged that the 3rd defendant used the said certificate in gaining employment into the civil service of the federation.

It also sought an order granting leave to the applicant to serve the originating motion on notice, hearing notices and other subsequent processes in the case on the 3rd defendant by substituted means.

The initiative prayed the court to allow the service of the court documents on the officials in the Office of the Director of Lands Administration, Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), No. 4, Peace Drive, Central Business District, Abuja.

Giving 10-ground argument, the lawyer said the initiative is a not-for-profit organisation registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) under the relevant laws.

Badmos said part of the objectives of the registration of the initiative is the struggle for the upholding of justice, fight against corruption and promotion of accountability and transparency in public offices.

He said the plaintiff had written a letter to the I-G and NPF, requesting investigations into the allegations of submission of forged/fake statement of result by Nwankwoeze to gain employment into the civil service of the federation.

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“The plaintiff had provided the 1st and 2nd defendants with the requisite documentary evidence that discloses triable offences under the relevant laws, but the 1st and 2nd defendants have failed to act till date.

“The 1st and 2nd defendants have the statutory role of investigation and prosecution of offences under the Police Act, 2020, including the allegations of forgery alleged against the 3rd defendant herein,” he said.

According to him, forgery or presentation of fake documents to procure an undue advantage is a serious offence in our country and prosecutory agencies shouldn’t be seen to be shielding public officers from prosecution.

The lawyer said unless the court compels the I-G and NPF to investigate and prosecute Nwankwoeze, they would continue to look away from these grave allegations.

Badmos said there is a reasonable cause to believe that service of the processes on Nwankwoeze’s office would bring the existence of the suit to his attention.

The lawyer, who said the court has the vires to compel the I-G and police to perform their statutory duty, said it is in the interest of justice and good governance to grant the application.

In the affidavit in support of the motion ex-parte, deposed to by the Executive Secretary of the initiative, Comrade Emmanuel Nwosu, he alleged that Nwankwoeze had used the forged result to gain admission into Federal Polytechnic, Oko in Anambra.

Nwosu said the organisation receives anonymous tip-offs and whistle-blowers’ petitions notifying it of any perceived corrupt practices going on in arm of the Nigerian government.

He said in one of those tip-offs, the organisation was reliably informed that the 3rd defendant had forged a statement of result dated 16th Jan., 1997 in respect of award of Diploma in Architectural Technology.

H alleged that the certificate was purportedly from Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin, to gain employment into the civil service of the federation.

According to Nwosu, a copy of the said statement of result is attached and marked as “Exhibit C.”

He further alleged that Nwankwoeze had used the fake result to gain admission into Federal Polytechnic, Oko in Anambra.

“That the applicant had on Jan. 15, instructed its solicitors, Ike, Ike & Associates, to write to the Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin, seeking confirmation or otherwise of the statement of result being paraded by the 3rd defendant.

“That in reply to the said solicitors’ letter, the Deputy Registrar, Exams and Records of Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin confirmed that the said statement of result is FAKE.

“A copy of the registrar’s letter dated 12th March, 2025, is attached and marked as ‘Exhibit D,’” he said.

He said against this background, the organisation wrote a letter to the I-G and NPF, “requesting investigations into the allegations of use and submission of forged/fake statements of result against the 3rd defendant.”

He said all requisite documentary evidence had been provided to the I-G and police but nothing had happened.

Nwosu, who said the police have the statutory role of investigation and prosecution of offences under the various laws, said there is no alternative legal remedy available to the applicants in the circumstances of the case.

He said he knew as a fact that Nwankwoeze, is a public officer and the current occupier of the office of the Director, Lands Administration, FCTA, and by the protocol and practice in his office, he does not receive processes meant for him personally.

He said it would be in the interest of justice to grant the leave to apply for an order of mandamus against the I-G and NPF in the court.

“That a grant of this application will not prejudice the defendants who still have an opportunity to defend the action as they may deem fit,” he said.

(NAN)