The trial of a former governor of Oyo State, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, and two others for alleged N11.5bn  fraud was on Wednesday adjourned till  May 2, 2019  due to the absence of the prosecution witness.

The witness was billed to give evidence in support of the 11 counts preferred against the accused by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)

Justice Olalekan Owolabi of the Oyo State High Court, Iyaganku in Ibadan; granted the EFCC’s  request that the trial be adjourned  after  counsel for the anti-corruption body, Dr Ben Ubi, told the court that the second witness, Mr Abdulrasheed Bawa, who is also the head of operations in the commission’s Port Harcourt zonal office, was involved in election duties.

Alao-Akala is standing trial alongside the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters during his tenure, Hosea Agboola, and an Ibadan-based businessman, Femi Babalola.

The charges against them border on conspiracy, awarding a contract without budgetary provision, obtaining by false pretences, acquiring properties with money derived from an illegal act and concealing the ownership of such properties.

Alao-Akala was alleged  to have  awarded a road contract worth N8.5bn between 2007 and 2009 to Babalola’s company  Pentagon Engineering Services without budgetary provision.

The said contract was executed on behalf of the 33 local government areas of  the state.

Also, the   ex-governor  allegedly ordered the supply of drilling machines worth N3.5bn on behalf of the 33 LGAs.

Apart from the allegation that Alao-Akala  conspired  with Agboola to withdraw N2.9bn from the Oyo State Local Government Joint Account, the EFCC  is prosecuting the former governor for allegedly  unlawfully acquiring   some properties while in office.

The offences were said to have contravened Section 22(4) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act and Section 1 (18) of the Advanced Fee Fraud Act.

The case, which  was  filed in 2011, has witnessed a  series of adjournments due to the volume of evidence and witnesses prepared to reinforce the prosecution’s argument.

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