Former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, has told a Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, to dismiss the N2.2 billion fraud case filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), asserting that he has no case to answer.
During the proceedings, Fayose’s legal team, led by Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN) and Olalekan Ojo (SAN), submitted a no-case application before Justice Chukujekwu Aneke. They argued that all prosecution witnesses and exhibits presented were based solely on speculation, which did not justify calling the defendants to enter a defence. They urged the court to uphold the no-case submission in favour of their clients.
The EFCC had, on October 18, 2018, filed an 11-count charge against Fayose and Spotless Investment Limited. The Commission alleged that Senator Musiliu Obanikoro withdrew and delivered N2.2 billion from Sylvan Mcnamara, a company said to have received funds for projects from the then National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki. The funds were allegedly diverted for Fayose’s benefit during the 2014 Ekiti State governorship election.
The charge was later amended on November 24, 2021. The EFCC, after calling 20 witnesses, closed its case on February 28, 2025.
However, in his testimony under oath, Senator Obanikoro recanted his earlier position, stating that the funds he gave to Fayose were proceeds from donations, fundraising events, and campaign activities for the 2014 gubernatorial election. Obanikoro, who chaired several campaign committees for the election, testified that he was responsible for managing the funds.
He also told the court that he had been coerced and maltreated by EFCC operatives during the investigation. He further disclosed that he was neither a director nor a shareholder in Sylvan Mcnamara, nor did he have the authority to represent the company.
Lead defense counsel, Kanu Agabi, pointed out that Abiodun Agbele—alleged to have coordinated the disbursement of the funds—was never arraigned. He also noted that the list of beneficiaries of the funds withdrawn by Sylvan Mcnamara’s authorized signatory, which was included in two separate mandate letters admitted as evidence, did not contain Fayose’s name or that of any associate.
Nine bank officials who testified for the prosecution affirmed that the funds deposited into the accounts of the defendants appeared legitimate and were never flagged by any regulatory authority.
The defense further argued: “Contrary to the prosecution’s position in its response to the defendants’ no-case submission filed on May 8, 2025, Zenith Bank officials confirmed under oath that the funds were received, counted, and deposited into an account provided by Abiodun Agbele at the bank’s Akure branch. If the funds delivered by Obanikoro were illicit, they would not have been processed by the bank.”
They maintained that the name “Ayo” written on teller slips was not personally written by Fayose. Supporting this, the second prosecution witness, Abiodun Adekoya Oshode, former Assistant General Manager of Zenith Bank, testified on October 22, 2019: “I did not see His Excellency filling or lodging any money either at Ado-Ekiti or Akure Branch of the Bank. I cannot say positively that the deposit slips with the name Ayo were made by the 1st Defendant.”
This position was corroborated by the Akure Branch Manager of Zenith Bank, Alade Oluseye (PW3), who testified: “I did not at any time see the 1st defendant (Fayose) filling any teller at Akure branch, and the teller unit is under my supervision.”
The EFCC investigation officer, Muhammed Madaki, also admitted under cross-examination that no evidence of communication between Fayose and Col. Dasuki or Senator Obanikoro was discovered. “Our investigation did not reveal any form of conversation between the 1st Defendant and the NSA. Our investigation did not also reveal any form of conversation between Ayodele Fayose and Senator Musiliu Obanikoro. The NSA made a statement to us in the course of this matter but we did not show the said statement to the 1st Defendant,” Madaki stated.
The defense emphasized that the funds in question were campaign donations under Obanikoro’s custody, who acknowledged on oath that Fayose was the beneficiary. “It can only be reasonably concluded that Ayodele Fayose collected the donations in custody of Senator Musiliu Obanikoro without more,” the defense submitted.
Additionally, EFCC subpoenaed Mr. Ademola Famokun, a staff of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who testified as PW20. He revealed that Senator Obanikoro chaired various campaign committees and that funds raised through donations, sales of nomination forms, and party cards were handed to him for transmission to Fayose. Famokun further clarified that PDP activities during that period were not funded by the NSA.
The matter was adjourned to July 10, 2025, for ruling on the no-case submission.
