A federal high court in Abuja on Monday ordered the resumed trial of former Governor of Niger state, Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, before Yellim Bogoro, judge of a federal high court in Niger state.
The ex-governor and his former chief of staff, Umar Nasko, were arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on eight counts of money laundering before Nnamdi Dimgba, a judge, in 2017.
They were accused of diverting the N1.9 billion ecological fund which the state received from the federal government in 2014.
The case was, however, transferred to Bogoro after the defendants made an application, insisting that the case be transferred to Niger where the offences were alleged to have been committed.
However, Abdu-Kafarati, the then chief judge of the federal high court, withdrew the case file from Bogoro and reassigned it to Aliyu Bappa based on a petition by EFCC.
Aggrieved by the transfer of his case, the former governor filed a suit before Inyang Ekwo, also a judge, challenging the decision of the then chief judge.
