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From Sola Ojo, Abuja
The trial of former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello continued on Thursday, January 15, before Justice Maryanne Anineh of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Maitama, Abuja, with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) tendering additional bank records as evidence.
Bello is standing trial alongside Umar Shuaibu Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu on a 16-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust and money laundering involving an alleged N110.4 billion.
At the resumed proceedings, the prosecution, led by Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, informed the court that the matter was slated for further cross-examination of Prosecution Witness Six (PW6), Mashelia Arhyel Bata, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank.
During cross-examination, counsel to the first and second defendants, J.B. Daudu, SAN, referred the witness to Exhibit S1 and asked him to clarify his earlier testimony that the statement of account had eight columns.
Bata explained that the “description” column reflected details of transactions.
Referring to entries in the statement, the witness identified a transaction dated January 20, 2016, described as “Cq 158 Abdulsalami Hudu for N10 million”, as well as another entry showing a cheque payment of N2,454,400 to Halims Hotels and Tours, Lokoja.
He stated that he did not know the purpose for which the funds were expended.
Daudu also drew the witness’s attention to Exhibit X1, identified as the account opening documents of a company account domiciled at Zenith Bank’s Lokoja branch.
When asked about specific transactions, the witness explained that on December 6, 2016, there was a credit of N74,378,483.20 from the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service, followed by a cheque payment of N10,000,000 to Mohammed Jami’u Sallau.
He added that the narration did not disclose the purpose of the payments.
Cross-examined by Z.B. Abbas on behalf of the third defendant, the witness confirmed that withdrawals made by the third defendant were by cheques duly signed by authorised signatories.
He also confirmed that the account in question was the Government House account and that the third defendant was introduced to the bank as a civil servant and accountant.
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When Abbas suggested that the third defendant merely acted in his official capacity, prosecution counsel objected, arguing that the witness was not in a position to testify on that issue.
Justice Anineh upheld the objection.
The witness further testified on several inflows and withdrawals into the account, including multiple tranches of N10 million described as security funds, as well as other large inflows from the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service, followed by withdrawals.
He clarified that abbreviations such as “sec” were not banking terms used by Zenith Bank.
Following the conclusion of cross-examination, the prosecution applied for the witness to be discharged, which the court granted.
The prosecution then called Prosecution Witness Seven (PW7), Mohammed Bello Hassan, an executive trainee with Keystone Bank, who appeared pursuant to a subpoena.
He tendered the statement of account of Dantata and Sawoe Construction covering January 1 to December 31, 2021, alongside other documents, which were admitted in evidence.
PW7 testified that the account showed multiple credit entries of N10 million each in February 2021, totalling N100 million, transferred by Maigari Murtala and Yusuf Mubarak.
Under cross-examination, he stated that he was not the account officer and did not personally know the individuals involved.
Prosecution Witness Eight (PW8), Gabriel Ocha, a compliance officer with FCMB, also testified under subpoena, tendering documents relating to Kunfayakun Global Limited. He identified several transactions, including a N30 million debit in favour of the American International School and multiple transfers involving different individuals and companies.
The prosecution further called Prosecution Witness Nine (PW9), A.D. Ojoma, a compliance officer with Sterling Bank, who tendered the statement of account of Bespoke Business Solutions Limited.
He identified several credit entries running into hundreds of millions of naira, including payments from the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service described as commissions and contractor payments.
Justice Maryanne Anineh adjourned the matter until Friday, January 16, 2026, for continuation of trial.
