Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Monday expressed frustration in the ongoing trial of former Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswam as the case file went missing, further stalling a fraud case that has lingered for more than ten years.
Suswam, alongside his former Commissioner for Finance, Omolachi Okolobia, is standing trial on amended 11-count charges filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
They are accused of diverting ₦3.1 billion, part of proceeds from the sale of Benue State shares held by the Benue Investment and Property Company Limited, through Elixir Securities Limited and Elixir Investment Partners Limited.
The judge noted that on July 23, 2025, he had dismissed Suswam’s no-case submission and directed him to open his defence.
However, at Monday’s proceedings, Suswam’s counsel, Joseph Bodunrin Daudu (SAN), asked for a three-week adjournment. He argued that one of the defence lawyers was ill and that an appeal had been filed against the ruling dismissing the no-case submission.
The EFCC’s prosecuting counsel, A.O. Atolagbe, opposed the adjournment. He said the defence had over two months during the court’s annual recess to prepare, insisting that the matter should not be further delayed given it had already dragged on for a decade.
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Justice Lifu, visibly displeased, recounted how he struggled to locate the case file earlier in the day. According to him, his staff had to search the appeal registry, where they eventually found the file “scattered and littered all over the place.” He warned that the trial could not continue at such a slow pace.
“This case has been on for ten years. No matter what, a case should not go on for that long,” the judge remarked, urging both sides to cooperate in ensuring its conclusion.
The matter was subsequently adjourned until October 10, 2025, for Suswam to begin his defence.
The trial, which has seen multiple adjournments and legal maneuvers since it began, remains one of Nigeria’s most prominent corruption cases involving a former state governor.
The Gavel
