Yahaya Bello EFCC trial advances as court admits Kogi Government account statements as evidence in N80.2bn misappropriation case
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday admitted as evidence several statements of account belonging to the Kogi State Government House Administration during the tenure of former Governor Yahaya Bello, marking a key development in the Yahaya Bello EFCC trial.
Also read: Witness Reveals How ₦1bn Left Kogi Government Account in Days During Yahaya Bello’s Tenure
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is prosecuting Bello over alleged misappropriation of N80.2 billion in state funds, in a case that has drawn national attention.
The fourth prosecution witness, Mshelia Bata, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank, tendered the documents — seven account statements — which were submitted along with certificates of identification, in line with statutory requirements.
The court admitted the documents as exhibits after they were presented during examination-in-chief by the prosecution counsel, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN).
However, defence counsel Joseph Daudu (SAN) objected to the admissibility of the documents but reserved his arguments for the final address stage.
Testifying under subpoena, Bata explained regulatory cash withdrawal limits in effect prior to Nigeria’s full cashless policy.
He stated that the maximum withdrawal limit for government entities at the time was N10 million per transaction.
Referencing a transaction dated 23 May 2016 involving Abdulsalami Hudu, Bata confirmed, “It is a cash withdrawal of N10 million, in line with the maximum threshold allowed for cheque withdrawals at the time,” adding that there were nine such cash transactions on the same day.
The witness also detailed ten credit transactions totalling approximately N1.092 billion on 30 January 2018 and confirmed total withdrawals amounting to N1.968 billion over a period. He provided a breakdown of inflows and outflows between 2 May and 19 May 2018.
This is not a trial of a banker but of a former governor.
At the end of the examination, debate arose over whether Daudu would proceed immediately with cross-examination.
He requested more time to review the documents and prepare, prompting the court to adjourn proceedings.
During the session, tensions rose as Pinheiro described the Yahaya Bello EFCC trial as political, emphasising that Bello, a former governor and presidential aspirant, was a political figure.
Daudu disagreed, insisting that the case should be treated strictly as a financial crime matter involving alleged money laundering.
Earlier in the day, Justice Emeka Nwite ruled against an unusual application by the EFCC to “cross-examine” its own witness, Nicholas Ojehomon, an internal auditor at the American International School, Abuja.
EFCC counsel Olukayode Enitan (SAN) had attempted to cross-examine Ojehomon on a court judgment admitted during defence cross-examination.
Justice Nwite ruled that the prosecution could only cross-examine its own witness if he was declared hostile, and any re-examination must be confined to specific pages of Exhibit 19 — namely pages 1, 14, and 15.
Ojehomon had previously testified that the American International School had no record of direct tuition payments from the Kogi State Government or its local councils.
Under cross-examination, he read a section of an FCT High Court judgment which confirmed that the funds in question were not declared as proceeds of money laundering, nor was there any order to return them to the EFCC.
Following a brief re-examination, the witness was discharged.
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Justice Nwite adjourned the case until Friday for cross-examination of the Zenith Bank witness by the defence.
