Nobody turned up. When the Suswam money laundering case came before the Federal High Court in Abuja on June 30, the parties were absent, and Justice Peter Lifu pushed the hearing to July 16. That is the new date for both sides to adopt their final written addresses.
The delay comes at the tail end of the trial. Former Benue State Governor Gabriel Suswam took the stand as the only defence witness, and his testimony closed the defence. He and his co-defendant, Omodachi Okolobia, who was Benue’s Commissioner for Finance at the time, face 11 counts of money laundering.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting. It says the N3.1 billion at issue came from shares owned by the Benue State Government and sold through the Benue Investment and Property Company Limited. Between 8 August and 30 October 2014, the commission alleges, the two men used Elixir Securities Ltd and Elixir Investment Partners Limited in Abuja to divert the money.
An amended charge adds a second allegation. The EFCC says Okolobia handled N578 million in four tranches between December 2014 and January 2015, which went past the cash transaction limit set by the money laundering law. The defendants were re-arraigned on that charge on 2nd November 2020.
How the case got here
Prosecutors called nine witnesses. The defendants then argued they had no case to answer. On 23 July, Justice Lifu rejected that argument and held that the prosecution had made out a prima facie case.
“Consequently, upon my conclusion, the defendants’ no-case submission is hereby refused and dismissed,” he ruled. “The defendants are hereby called upon to enter their various defences.”
Suswam governed Benue from 2007 to 2015. The EFCC first arraigned him and Okolobia in November 2015 over the alleged diversion of N3.1 billion.
The file has moved slowly since. Justices Ahmed Mohammed and Okon Abang each handled it at different points. After Mohammed was elevated to the appellate bench in 2023, directives from the Court of Appeal sent the case to Justice Lifu. In March 2024 the defendants were re-arraigned before him and pleaded not guilty.
Almost 11 years after the first arraignment, the case is still going through adjournments. The next one ends on July 16.
