Former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello
Justice Maryann Anenih of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Maitama, on Thursday, pushed forward the hearing in the ongoing ₦110 billion fraud case involving former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello and two others. The case will now resume on November 12.
Bello is standing trial alongside Umar Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu, facing a 16-count charge related to alleged large-scale property fraud.
At Thursday’s proceedings, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) presented its fifth witness, Victoria Oluwafemi, a compliance officer with Polaris Bank. Oluwafemi disclosed that several credits were made into the relevant bank account from multiple sources. She revealed that most outgoing transactions were made in repeated sums of ₦10 million, with ₦450 million credited in November 2021 alone.
Under cross-examination by counsel to the first defendant, Joseph Daudu, SAN, the witness admitted she was not the account officer for the accounts in question. As a result, she couldn’t verify how the transactions were initiated or authorized.
Similarly, when questioned by A.M. Aliyu, lawyer to the second defendant, Oluwafemi acknowledged that Abdulsalami Hudu’s name did not appear in the part of Exhibit M shown to her.
The court then took up the cross-examination of Mshelia Arhyel, EFCC’s sixth witness. Daudu, however, informed the court he was yet to finish cross-examining Arhyel in a separate but related case before another judge. Justice Anenih maintained that the current trial was independent and allowed the defence counsel to decide whether or not to proceed with cross-examination.
During the session, the prosecution sought to admit certain documents through the witness. But defence counsels Daudu and Aliyu both objected, citing non-compliance with Sections 83 and 84 of the Evidence Act. Daudu also reserved the right to argue his objections in more detail at a later stage.
Despite these objections, the court admitted a 218-page statement of account for Alusha Services, signed by Arhyel, as Exhibit P1.
Further examination revealed striking transaction patterns. The EFCC’s lawyer, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, directed Arhyel to review transactions dated Feb. 22, 23, 25 and March 3, 2016, through to May 6, 2022. The witness acknowledged that while several ₦10 million transactions occurred daily, they were within the approved banking threshold.
“Please confirm that, notwithstanding the multiple withdrawals made on the same day, they were all within the approved withdrawal threshold,” Pinheiro asked.
“Yes, my Lord,” Arhyel replied.
He further testified about inflows to Aleshua Solutions Services, noting a $2,500 transfer from B.O. Rosemary Chukwuma, followed by two $5,000 transfers to an individual identified as Yau.
Additionally, he confirmed that in December 2016, a total of ₦202 million was transferred from the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service into the relevant accounts.
The judge subsequently adjourned the matter until November 12 for the continuation of the witness examination.
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