The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has fixed November 25, 2025, for the continuation of trial in the alleged ₦4 billion money laundering case against former Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano.
The adjournment followed the sitting of the newly assigned trial judge, Justice Mohammed Umar, who rose on Thursday after delivering three judgments and hearing several other cases on the court’s cause list.
The case, initially handled by Justice Inyang Ekwo, was reassigned to Justice Umar following an administrative directive by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, in a statement issued on May 18. Justice Umar, formerly of the Enugu Division, had been unavailable to sit on May 26—the previous adjourned date—resulting in a rescheduling of the case for July 24, and now November 25.
Obiano, who served as Anambra governor from March 2014 to March 2022, is standing trial on a nine-count charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), accusing him of diverting more than ₦4 billion from state coffers through a complex web of financial transactions involving multiple companies and proxies.
The EFCC had earlier called several witnesses, including bank officials and Bureau De Change (BDC) operators, who gave testimony on how funds from the state’s security vote account were allegedly laundered.
One of the key witnesses, Mr. Ugochukwu Otubelu, a former staff of a commercial bank, revealed how he handled the security vote account under Obiano’s administration. He said the principal signatories were Willy Nwokoye (former Principal Secretary to the Governor) and Theophilus Nweze (Accountant). He also testified that funds from the account were funneled into six different company accounts.
Another witness, Hayatu Hadejia, a BDC operator, told the court that he ran multiple currency exchange companies and was invited by the EFCC as part of its investigations into Obiano’s administration.
On November 13, 2024, another BDC operator, Ayuba Tanko, said he received ₦416 million into a company account by proxy and returned it as $1.137 million USD equivalent. He said the transactions took place between April and December 2017 and confirmed that he had no direct dealings with Obiano himself.
During cross-examination, Obiano’s counsel, Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, questioned Ayuba on whether he ever interacted with the former governor. Ayuba responded: “I did not deal directly with the defendant.”
The EFCC has also presented testimonies from three bank officials in support of its case.