Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has ruled that former Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswam, must face trial over allegations of N3.1 billion fraud brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The judge stated that the EFCC had established a prima facie case against Suswam, meaning there is enough evidence for the case to proceed.
As a result, the court rejected the no case submission filed by Suswam and his former Commissioner for Finance, Omodachi Okolobia.
Justice Lifu said the application lacked merit and ordered both defendants to present their defence. The court has scheduled September 22 and 26 for them to do so.
Suswam and Okolobia are facing an 11-count amended charge. They are accused of diverting N3.1 billion allegedly from the sale of Benue State government shares managed by Benue Investment and Property Company Limited through Elixir Securities Limited and Elixir Investment Partners Limited.
During the no case hearing, defence lawyers Chenelu Ogbozor and Paul Erokoro (SAN) asked the court to dismiss the charges, arguing that their clients had not been directly linked to the alleged crime.
However, the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), urged the court to reject the defence’s application, describing it as baseless and lacking merit.
The trial will now proceed with the defendants required to open their defence.
