As the nation’s judiciary resumes for the 2025/26 new legal year, there are a number of high profile cases being prosecuted by antigraft agencies which commenced years ago and are still pending before the various courts. AKEEM NAFIU and TUNDE OYESINA examine some of these cases
Nnamdi Kanu
The self acclaimed leader of the proscribed Indegenous People of Biafra (IPOB) is facing treason charge slammed on him by the Federal Government. The Federal Government has closed its case after calling about five witnesses and tendering evidences.
The defence (Kanu’s lawyers) have since indicated their intention to file a no-case submission— arguing that the prosecution has not established a prima facie case to warrant Kanu entering a defence.
The trial Judge, James Omotosho, of a Federal High Court in Abuja is awaiting the filing and hearing of the said no-case submission before deciding whether: “to dismiss some or all counts and discharge Kanu, or to order him to open his defence and call witnesses.
The prosecution has finished presenting its evidence; the ball is now in the defence’s court to challenge the sufficiency of that evidence through a no-case submission. It would be recalled that a motion filed by Kanu, during the court’s long vacation, seeking an order transferring him from the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) to the National Hospital in Abuja for urgent medical attention was turned down by Justice Musa Liman, who was sitting as a vacation judge.
The judge declined hearing on the ground that his fiat to sit as a vacation judge has expired and therefore he lacked jurisdiction to open such a new matter for hearing.
Owo church massacre
The trial of five persons accused of mastermind the killing of some worshippers at St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, is still at the commencement stage.
The five accused persons have been arraigned before the Federal High Court, Abuja, on a nine counts charge of terrorism connected to the June 5, 2022 massacre by the Department of State Services (DSS). They however pleaded not guilty to the charge upon their arraignment.
The defendants are: Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris and Momoh Otuho Abubakar. The court has refused their bail applications, keeping them in DSS custody because of the seriousness of the charge. The judge has also granted witness protection, allowing prosecution witnesses to testify under shield for safety.
The trial was slated to formally begin in August 2025, but so far, proceedings have been focused on pre-trial applications (bail, witness protection and custody issues).
Yahaya Bello
A former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, is currently being tried by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged N80.2 billion fraud bordering on money laundering and breach of trust. Bello is being tried alongside Abdulsalami Hudu and Umar Oricha, in some of the related cases.
Many cases involving politically exposed persons will be decided in the new legal year
Upon his arraignment, Bello denied the alleged offences and was granted bail in the sum of ₦500 million. Attached are some bail conditions; namely- two sureties (with landed property in Abuja) who are expected to sworn to an affidavits of means. Bello was also ordered to surrender his international passport to the court. The EFCC has also started calling witnesses.
The first and second prosecution witnesses (Fabian Nwora and Segun Adeleke) have testified concerning property transactions and negotiations involving Bello or proxies.
A witness from American International School, Abuja, Nicholas Ojehomon, was called by the EFCC to testify on issues relating to payments and refunds of school fees (which are part of the allegations). There have been objections, evidence admissibility arguments, and delays. In one instance, the EFCC requested re-examination of a witness to clarify what came up in cross-examination.
The defence team has equally sought to tender certain judgements in evidence (for instance, an Abuja High Court judgment involving Ali Bello and the American International School) which EFCC opposed. The EFCC told the court it has about 28 more witnesses lined up to testify. The trial is in the prosecution’s evidence phase. Witnesses are being called and cross-examinations are underway.
The defence is actively raising motions, defending objections, and challenging admissibility of some evidence. The court has scheduled more cross-examination sessions and rulings on outstanding motions, particularly those involving evidence, witness re-examination, and relevant judgements. The court has set further dates for cross-examination of certain witnesses.
Sambo Dasuki
The Federal Government has not yet closed its case in the trial of a former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (Rtd) over alleged unlawful possession of firearms and money laundering.
Prosecution is still calling witnesses and tendering exhibits. A DSS exhibit keeper (Monsur Mohammed) has given testimony about searches at Dasuki’s property in Abuja, Sokoto, etc., and various items seized have been admitted as exhibits (e.g. Exhibits MSD 015-034) without objection from the defence.
Justice Peter Lifu of a Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed September 24 to 26, 2025 as the dates by which the prosecution must call any remaining witnesses and tender all outstanding exhibits.
After prosecution closes, Dasuki is expected to open his defence. He is facing a seven-count amended charge bordering on alleged unlawful possession of firearms and money laundering.
The items seized in searches include cash ($150,000, ₦37.6 million), electronics, phones, laptops, bank documents etc. Some of these have already been accepted in evidence. There is pressure from the court for the case to be concluded given its duration (10 years since arraignment in 2015).
Willie Obiano
A former Governor of Anambra state, Wille Obiano, is facing a ninecount charge brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), including offences of money laundering, diversion of public funds, stealing, abuse of office and corruption, all amounting to about ₦4 billion. Part of the allegations involved transfers from the “security vote” account of Anambra State to private companies, through proxies.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) accused him of spending the money for “purposes unrelated and unconnected with the security affairs of Anambra State”. EFCC further alleged that the funds were diverted through companies “that had no business relationship with the Anambra State Government. It said the funds were then converted to dollar and handed over to the then-governor in cash.
Obiano was arraigned on January 24, 2024, in Abuja, pleaded not guilty and was released on bail under certain conditions such as surrendering of his international passport and providing sureties. The defence filed a motion to quash the charge citing abuse of judicial process and lack of jurisdiction. The motion was dismissed by Justice Inyang Ekwo. This indicated that trial could proceed.
EFCC, through its prosecution counsel, has since commence trial. Several witnesses have testified, including bankers and Bureau De Change (BDC) operators. One key witness, Ugochukwu Otubelu, admitted that funds from the security vote account were directed into accounts of private companies.
Another BDC operator, Ayuba Tanko, admitted that large tranches totalling about ₦416 million were moved through his company’s account via a proxy. The case was later reassigned by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court from Justice Inyang Ekwo to Justice Mohammed Umar on May 8, 2025.
Because of this reassignment, some scheduled trial dates under the old judge were vacated. For example, a proceeding fixed for May 26, 2025 did not hold. Trial is to commence afresh before Justice Mohammed Umar. The date fixed for the resumption of trial is November 25, 2025. That is when proceedings are expected to begin under the new judge.
Godwin Emefiele
A former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, is facing several sets of charges over allegations of abuse of office and illegal allocation of foreign exchange (involving large sums, e.g. $2.1 billion etc) Procurement fraud involving contracts for vehicle supplies, allegedly conferring corrupt advantage on certain persons/companies, as well as miscellaneous related offences, such as forgery, false pretenses and conspiracy.
The breakdown of the cases are as follows: (a) “Foreign Exchange Allocation Case (Lagos Ikeja Special Offences Court). Trial has since commenced. Some counts have been struck out. Others are active.
The case is proceeding with cross-examination and tendering of proofs of evidence. (b) “Procurement / Contracts Case (FCT High Court, Abuja) Also active. Witnesses have been testifying. Certain logistical/ procedural motions (passport release, etc.) have equally been addressed. (c) “Asset Forfeiture Case / Appeals.
The government had gotten forfeiture orders, but one of them (at least) was overturned by the Court of Appeal, meaning assets are no longer forfeited until further legal process. (d) “Detention/Fundamental Rights suits Emefiele had filed various fundamental rights enforcement suits to challenge his arrest and detention. Some court orders have been made (release orders, bail orders, etc.) in relation to these.
Trial is set to continue on October 7 & 8, 2025 for presentation of evidence or witness testimony, while October 9, 2025 has been fixed as the date for testimony of the alleged victim. In the meantime, Justice Rahman Oshodi of a Special Offences Court in Ikeja has given his nod for Emefiele to engage forensic experts to examine WhatsApp conversations and a mobile device marked “iPhone 2” that were tendered as evidence in his ongoing trial.
In a ruling, the judge held that the defence has the right to conduct an independent forensic review, provided safeguards were in place to protect the integrity of the evidence. Emefiele’s legal team, led by Olalekan Ojo (SAN), had in an application, urged the court to allow an independent forensic expert to inspect the handset and verify the authenticity of the extracted WhatsApp messages presented as exhibits.
Hadi Sirika
A former Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika, his daughter, Fatima Hadi Sirika, his son-in-law, Jalal Sule Hamman and a firm, Al Buraq Global Investment Ltd, are facing trial over abuse of office and contract fraud to the tune of N8 billion.
One key allegation is that he splitted a single contract into parts and awarded it to his relatives to avoid higher scrutiny on approval thresholds. He was arraigned on multiple charges. In one of them, a N2.7 billion case (six-count amended charge) involving his daughter, son-in-law and company.
They have since pleaded not guilty to the charge. Sirika was also arraigned on another case involving his brother, Ahmad Sirika and a firm, Enginos Nigeria Ltd over alleged N5.8 billion contract fraud. Sirika and his co-accused in the alleged N2.7 billion fraud case were granted bail in the sum of N100 million each with sureties in like sum. One of the bail conditions is that the former Minister must not travel abroad without court’s permission.
A number of fresh cases may also be initiated by anti-graft agencies in the new legal year
The prosecution has been calling witnesses, about eleven prosecution witnesses have testified in the N2.7 billion fraud trial. These include representatives of regulatory and public bodies like NUPRC and NNPCL who are giving evidence about relationships, contract documents, employment records etc. There has also been presentation of fresh documentary evidence.
There is also a pending trialwithin-trial ordered by Justice Sylvanus Oriji, to determine whether certain extra-judicial statements by defendants were made voluntarily as required under the ACJA. This is scheduled for 27th to 29th October, 2025.
Omoyele Sowore
On 16th September, 2025, the Department of State Services (DSS) filed a five-count criminal charge against a rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, at a Federal High Court in Abuja. Co-defendants in the suit are X Corp (formerly Twitter) and Meta (Facebook), because the alleged offending posts were made via those platforms.
The charge arose from posts in late August 2025 in which Sowore allegedly referred to President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal”, accusing him of lying about the eradication of corruption under his regime.
In the charge marked FHC/ABJ/ CR/481/2025, the Federal Government alleged that Sowore, using his verified X handle, @YeleSowore, wrote: “This criminal @officialABAT actually went to Brazil to state that there is no more corruption under his regime in Nigeria. What audacity to lie shamelessly!”
The government alleged that the posts were false, malicious, inciting, and intended to cause breakdown of law and order. It was added that they violated the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024 and the Criminal Code for defamation.No arraignment date has been fixed. However, in response to the criminal charge, Sowore has filed at least two fundamental rights suits at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
These suits challenge what he calls unconstitutional censorship by the DSS of his social media posts/ accounts (with Meta / X). He seeks declarations that DSS has no legal authority to direct that posts be deleted or platforms to act, on account of Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution (freedom of expression).
“No security agency, no matter how powerful, can suspend or delete those rights. Meta and X must also understand this: when they bow to unlawful censorship demands, they become complicit in the suppression of liberty.
They cannot hide behind neutrality while authoritarianism is exported onto their platforms”, he said. There is also an older case involving Sowore and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun, where Sowore was charged under cybercrime, false statements and publication laws. for calling the IG “illegal IGP”.
Darius Ishaku
A former Governor of Taraba State, Darius Ishaku, is charged alongside Bello Yero (former Permanent Secretary, Bureau for Local Government & Chieftaincy Affairs) on a 15 counts charge of alleged N27 billion fraud bordering on criminal breach of trust, conspiracy and conversion of public funds.
The charge arose from alleged misappropriation of the state’s contingency funds (among other funds) during Ishaku’s term in office. Ishaku and Yero were arraigned before the FCT High Court, Maitama.
They however pleaded not guilty to the charge. Ishaku was later granted bail in the sum of N150 million with bail conditions including provision of sureties, as well restrictions on travelling without court’s permission.
There has been a preliminary objection raised by Ishaku’s defence team regarding jurisdiction. Defence argued the court lacks territorial or constitutional jurisdiction because part of the alleged acts involve state finances and state-based anti-corruption agencies.
The court reserved ruling on those jurisdiction issues at one point. The prosecution has called witnesses. One key witness is Ismail Lawal, a former personal assistant to Ishaku. He is being cross-examined (or has given evidence) regarding his role in collecting and disbursing funds under Ishaku’s directives.
Some documents and notebooks have been tendered in evidence. The such as notebooks showed entries for payments made to various people under Ishaku’s instruction. Ishaku’s defence team raised objections to some statements/documents proposed by the prosecution, particularly about statements made under caution, whether they were recorded properly, whether legal counsel was present.
In June 2025, the court overruled one such objection and admitted a statement of PW1 made to the EFCC, even though defence had challenged its admissibility under the relevant laws (like the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, Evidence Act). The matter has been adjourned to September 30, October 15 & 20, and November 6, 2025 for continuation of cross-examination and further trial.
