On 8 August 2022 the Nigerian Correctional Service released Joshua Dariye, who governed Plateau State, and Jolly Nyame, who governed Taraba. A Council of State meeting in April had approved a presidential pardon for them and 157 other convicts (Channels Television, 8 August 2022). The Presidency said both qualified on grounds that included "life-threatening ill-health" (ThisDay, 21 April 2022).
Dariye had been sentenced in June 2018 to 14 years, cut by the Court of Appeal to ten and upheld by the Supreme Court in March 2021 (The Nigeria Lawyer, 12 March 2021). Nyame had been sentenced in May 2018 to 14 years, cut to 12 and affirmed by the Supreme Court in February 2020 (The Guardian, 8 February 2020). Both walked out about four years into their terms.
They are worth starting with because they are the exception. Among the former governors the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission took to court after its creation in 2003, we found only two, Dariye and Nyame, whose convictions followed a full contested trial and survived every appeal. We went through the rest.
Who we counted
We looked at former governors the EFCC took to court between 2003 and the end of 2023, so that every case has had at least two and a half years to move and most have had far longer. We found 31 and could trace how each case ended or where it stands, using court reports, agency statements, national press coverage and a 2021 compendium of high-profile corruption cases. This is not a census: it is the cases we could document. It leaves out cases brought by other bodies such as the Code of Conduct Tribunal and the ICPC, investigations that never reached a court, and prosecutions begun in 2024 or later, which are described separately below.
The result is 12 cases that reached a verdict we found no later ruling to undo (five convictions and seven acquittals) and 19 that did not. Of the 19, nine ended on procedure, a point of law or a prosecutor's withdrawal, two ended with the defendant's death, and eight are still unresolved. The EFCC has appealed, or said it would appeal, four of the seven acquittals; we found no ruling on any of those appeals.
The five convictions that held
Diepreye Alamieyeseigha of Bayelsa was sentenced in 2007 to two years and pardoned in March 2013, when the Council of State approved a proposal from President Goodluck Jonathan (IOL, 14 March 2013). Lucky Igbinedion of Edo pleaded guilty in December 2008 and, according to reports at the time, was fined ₦3.5 million as an alternative to six months in jail, with about ₦500 million to be refunded and three properties forfeited.
James Ibori of Delta was convicted in London. In December 2009 the Federal High Court in Asaba dismissed 170 charges against him, saying there was "no clear evidence" (Pambazuka News, 18 December 2009). In February 2012 he pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court to money-laundering counts, was sentenced in April 2012 to 13 years, and was released in December 2016.
With Dariye and Nyame, described above, that makes five convictions that held. Three ended in pardons (Alamieyeseigha, Dariye and Nyame), one in a fine, and one in Britain, on a British charge. Four of the five came from Nigerian cases opened between 2005 and 2008.
Seven acquittals, four of them contested by the EFCC
Attahiru Bafarawa of Sokoto was charged in 2009 and acquitted by the Sokoto State High Court on 31 July 2018; the EFCC called the ruling "shocking and unacceptable" and said it would appeal (ThisDay, 1 August 2018). Rashidi Ladoja of Oyo was acquitted in February 2019 after an 11-year trial (ThisDay, 9 February 2019). Adebayo Alao-Akala of Oyo was acquitted by the Court of Appeal in December 2021, nine years after his arraignment (ThisDay, 3 December 2021). Gbenga Daniel of Ogun, arraigned in October 2011, was acquitted by the Court of Appeal in 2022, which called the prosecution malicious and held that the Abuja court had no jurisdiction to try an offence alleged against Ogun State (The Gazette).
Newer cases reached verdicts sooner. Jonah Jang of Plateau, arraigned in May 2018, was acquitted by the Plateau State High Court on 2 September 2022, and the EFCC began an appeal (ThisDay, 2 September 2022). Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti, arraigned in October 2018 over ₦6.9 billion, was discharged and acquitted on 16 July 2025 after the court upheld his no-case submission, finding no credible evidence linking him to the offences charged; the EFCC said it would appeal (ThisDay, 16 July 2025). Muazu Babangida Aliyu of Niger, charged in 2017, had a no-case submission upheld in his favour by the Niger State High Court on 7 December 2023, and the EFCC filed an appeal in January 2024 (The Guardian, 18 January 2024).
Among cases opened before 2016, trials that ran to a judgment, conviction or acquittal, took between nine and twelve years from charge to verdict. The three newer acquittals took between four and seven.
Nineteen without a verdict that held
Nine cases ended on procedure, a point of law or a prosecutor's withdrawal. Saminu Turaki of Jigawa, charged in 2007 with laundering about ₦36 billion, saw his case struck out on 13 October 2022 for want of diligent prosecution, the EFCC's lawyer being absent; the EFCC says this was not an acquittal and that it can proceed when ready (ThisDay, 14 October 2022). Chimaroke Nnamani of Enugu was arraigned in 2007. Four companies the EFCC linked to him pleaded guilty in July 2015 and forfeited assets; in February 2018 the judge held that, in view of that plea-bargain judgment, there was no valid charge against Nnamani and expunged the proceedings (ICIR, 7 July 2015; Channels Television, 20 February 2018). Abdullahi Adamu of Nasarawa, charged in 2010, was discharged on 28 June 2016 after the EFCC withdrew the case; the judge noted it was not an acquittal and the EFCC could refile (ICIR).
Danjuma Goje of Gombe, charged in 2011, had 19 of 21 counts struck out in March 2019. On 7 June 2019 the Attorney-General took over the prosecution from the EFCC under the constitutional power to take over and discontinue prosecutions, and withdrew it (ThisDay, 8 June 2019; EFCC statement). Timipre Sylva of Bayelsa saw ₦19.2 billion charges dismissed as an abuse of process in June 2015, and a refiled 50-count charge dismissed on the same ground in November 2015 (ICIR). Orji Kalu of Abia was convicted in December 2019 and sentenced to 12 years; in May 2020 the Supreme Court annulled the conviction because the trial judge had been elevated to the Court of Appeal before delivering judgment. A Federal High Court barred a retrial in September 2021, and the Court of Appeal dismissed the EFCC's appeal in March 2024 because the record of appeal was incompetent (Ripples Nigeria, 26 October 2021; News Central TV, 6 March 2024).
Three more came from the newer cases. Ibrahim Shema of Katsina, arraigned in 2016 over ₦11 billion, was discharged on 13 February 2023 when the state government entered a nolle prosequi and the court accepted it; a separate ₦5.7 billion EFCC case against him in the Federal High Court in Katsina was still active (ThisDay, 14 February 2023). James Ngilari of Adamawa was sentenced on 6 March 2017 to five years, without the option of a fine, over a vehicle-procurement contract; in July 2017 the Court of Appeal in Yola set the conviction aside, holding that he was not a procurement entity (Channels Television, 6 March 2017; ThisDay, 20 July 2017). Rochas Okorocha of Imo was charged by the EFCC in January 2022 with diverting about ₦2.9 billion; on 14 July 2023 a High Court in Abuja dismissed the case as an abuse of process, because the EFCC had filed a similar charge in the Federal High Court that was decided in his favour (Channels Television, 14 July 2023).
Two defendants died during their trials. Abubakar Audu of Kogi, facing a 36-count charge over about ₦10.97 billion, died in November 2015. Aliyu Akwe Doma of Nasarawa, charged in 2011, died on 6 March 2018 after the EFCC had closed its case (EFCC statement; Channels Television, 9 March 2018).
Eight cases are unresolved. Gabriel Suswam of Benue was arraigned in November 2015 and took a fresh plea after his trial judge was elevated in 2023; in July 2025 the court rejected his no-case submission, a ruling that a defendant has a case to answer and not a finding of guilt, and he proceeded to his defence. Murtala Nyako of Adamawa, charged in 2015 over ₦29 billion, was the subject of a court hearing in July 2025 at which the judge was told the parties were discussing a settlement, and gave them until 16 October to report one or continue the trial; we found no report of what followed. Sule Lamido of Jigawa, charged in 2015, was discharged by the Court of Appeal in July 2023 on a jurisdictional ground; the Supreme Court reversed that on 16 January 2026 and sent the case back for trial. Boni Haruna of Adamawa was charged on 28 counts, and in November 2012 his case was moved to Adamawa because Abuja lacked territorial jurisdiction (Sahara Reporters, 15 November 2012); we found no verdict since. Ikedi Ohakim of Imo, arraigned in July 2015 over an Abuja property, had his no-case submission rejected in June 2016, and we found no outcome.
Three of the eight are newer. Ramalan Yero of Kaduna, arraigned in 2018 over ₦700 million alleged to have been paid to influence the 2015 election, was re-arraigned on eight counts in November 2022 (EFCC statement). Usman Dakingari of Kebbi, arraigned in December 2018 over ₦450 million alleged to have been paid for the same purpose, was still in trial in 2020 (ThisDay, 7 December 2018; EFCC statements). Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa, who had served briefly as acting governor, was arraigned in June 2016 over ₦2.9 billion and was in trial in July 2019, by which time he had become governor; the constitution protects a sitting governor from prosecution while in office, and we found no verdict (Channels Television, 30 June 2016; EFCC statement). A missing report is not proof that a case is closed. We found no conviction in any of these eight, and each is presumed innocent unless a court finds otherwise.
Five charged since 2024
Since the start of 2024 the EFCC has taken five more former governors to court. None has reached a verdict, and we have kept them out of the count above because none has had the two and a half years we allowed the others.
Willie Obiano of Anambra was arraigned on 24 January 2024 on nine counts over ₦4 billion alleged to have been withdrawn from the state's security-vote account, and pleaded not guilty (Channels Television, 24 January 2024). Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara, accused over ₦5.78 billion of education funds, was arraigned in April 2024 and re-arraigned on 14 counts on 21 October 2024, after the first trial judge was transferred (Vanguard, October 2024). Yahaya Bello of Kogi faces two trials in Abuja: a ₦80.2 billion money-laundering case, in which he pleaded not guilty to 18 counts on 13 December 2024, and a separate ₦110.4 billion case on 16 counts, in which he was arraigned on 27 November 2024 (Premium Times, 13 December 2024; Businessday, 27 November 2024). Darius Ishaku of Taraba was arraigned on 1 October 2024 over ₦27 billion of contingency funds (Channels Television, 3 October 2024). Theodore Orji of Abia was arraigned on 28 February 2025, with his son and three others, on 16 counts over ₦60.85 billion (EFCC statement, 28 February 2025).
None has had a verdict. Bello's ₦110.4 billion case survived an application to strike it out in June 2026 (Premium Times, 16 June 2026), and prosecution witnesses were still testifying in Ishaku's trial in July 2026 (Sahara Reporters, 13 July 2026). Ahmed's trial was hearing prosecution witnesses in 2026 (ThisDay, 18 February 2026). We found no report of Orji's trial after it was adjourned to June 2025.
Obiano's trial shows an old pattern. Nine prosecution witnesses had testified before Justice Inyang Ekwo, who was then suspended by the National Judicial Council. The case was reassigned in May 2025, and on 25 November 2025, at the EFCC's request, the new judge adjourned it indefinitely to await Justice Ekwo's return (Peoples Gazette; News Agency of Nigeria). A change of judge also restarted Suswam's trial and voided Kalu's conviction.
Two other former governors have been prosecuted lately but are not counted. Chris Ngige of Anambra was arraigned by the EFCC on 12 December 2025 on eight counts over ₦2.26 billion, but the charges concern his time as labour minister, not as governor (Channels Television, 12 December 2025). Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna was arraigned on 24 March 2026 on corruption charges by the ICPC, not the EFCC, and pleaded not guilty (Premium Times, 24 March 2026). Okowa of Delta and Udom of Akwa Ibom have been detained and questioned by the EFCC, but we found no charge in court against either. All of these men are presumed innocent.
What ends these cases
The same procedural problems recur. In five of the 31 cases, where the trial could be held reshaped or restarted the case: Turaki, Haruna, Daniel, Lamido and Aliyu, whose case began in an Abuja court and was moved to Minna on the defendants' application. In three, a change of trial judge mattered: a promotion voided Kalu's conviction and restarted Suswam's trial, and a mid-trial reassignment by a chief judge, which the Federal High Court held went beyond the chief judge's powers, interrupted Aliyu's (Channels Television, 20 January 2021). In two, an attorney-general ended the prosecution: the Attorney-General of the Federation in Goje's case and the Katsina government in Shema's. None of this says anything about whether a governor did what was alleged.
The totals are stark. Twelve of the 31 cases reached a verdict we found no later ruling to undo, and 19 did not. Of the six convictions handed down by Nigerian courts, five were followed by a pardon, an annulment or an appeal that set them aside, and the sixth by a fine.
The newer cases differ in one respect. None of the nine opened since 2016 has produced a conviction that stands: one conviction was set aside within months, three ended in acquittals, one in a dismissal and one in a withdrawal, and three are unresolved. Part of that is time, since the newest cases are the youngest. But every conviction that held came from a Nigerian case opened between 2005 and 2008 or, in Ibori's case, from a British prosecution.
For a reader, the difference between an acquittal and a strike-out is the one to watch. The seven acquittals were rulings that the prosecution had not made its case, though the EFCC has appealed or said it would appeal four of them. The strike-outs and withdrawals were not rulings on the evidence at all, and in Turaki's and Adamu's cases the EFCC could still proceed.