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By Philip Nwosu
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday adjourned the alleged money laundering trial of the former Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, until May 6 for the continuation of proceedings.
Justice Emeka Nwite fixed the new date to enable defence counsel, Joseph Daudu, to continue the cross-examination of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)’s 12th prosecution witness, Abdullahi Jamilu.
During the hearing, Jamilu told the court that he made only one statement to the EFCC on May 10, 2022, while attempting to refresh his memory from the document.
Under cross-examination, the witness admitted that issues relating to Wales Oil and Gas, Forza Oil and Gas, and Aleshua Services were not contained in Exhibit 46, which was his earlier statement. He also confirmed that the names listed in Exhibit 13, pages one to 13, were not included in Exhibit 46 and that he was not the maker of Exhibit 13.
Earlier, Justice Nwite dismissed an objection by the defence to the EFCC’s attempt to re-present Exhibit 46, describing the objection as speculative and misconstrued.
The witness further recalled giving similar evidence in a related matter before Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the same court, although he could not remember his exact witness number in that case. He, however, confirmed that the defendants in the separate trial included Ali Bello, Abah Adaudu, Yakuba Siyaka Adabenege, and Iyadi Sadat.
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Documents tendered during the session were admitted as Exhibit 47 without objection.
While reviewing the documents, Jamilu acknowledged that the transactions he testified about in the earlier case were similar to those in the current trial. He explained that as a bureau de change operator, he often relied on colleagues to process dollar transfers when his accounts could not handle such transactions directly.
During earlier testimony led by EFCC counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, the witness said he delivered dollars to a police officer identified as Ali on behalf of Abba Adaudu.
He also stated that the companies mentioned in court—Aleshua Services, Wales Oil and Gas, and Forza Oil and Gas—belonged to his colleagues, adding that he typically collaborated with them when he lacked sufficient dollar inflow to execute transactions.
Jamilu told the court that instructions to transfer funds to the American International School Abuja were given by Adaudu, who approached him with a friend whose name he could not recall. He said the payments were successfully processed and that he subsequently forwarded telex advice receipts to Adaudu.
However, when asked to confirm documents in Exhibit 13, the witness noted discrepancies, stating that pages 13 and 14 were not part of the documents he originally tendered for the school fee payments.
Justice Nwite thereafter adjourned the matter to May 6 and May 7 for the continuation of the cross-examination of the prosecution witness.
