EFCC logo and the former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello
The ongoing money laundering trial of former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello took a key turn on Monday as the fourth prosecution witness reaffirmed that withdrawals by the state government did not breach any banking regulations.
Testifying before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja, Mshelia Arhyel Bata, a compliance officer with a commercial bank, stated that the name of the former governor did not appear as a beneficiary in any of the accounts presented as evidence.
During cross-examination, Defence Counsel and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Joseph Daudu questioned Bata about withdrawals made by Umar Olufunke, which the prosecution had not highlighted. The EFCC had focused primarily on withdrawals by Abdulsalam Hudu, the Cashier at the Kogi State Government House.
According to Bata, these withdrawals—often in multiples of ₦10 million—took place between December 2017 and April 2018, and the beneficiaries included various hotels within Kogi State. He further confirmed withdrawals by Alhassan Omakoji between November 2021 and December 2022, noting that none exceeded ₦10 million per transaction and were within limits set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Bata also admitted, “I am not aware of any law that regulates how Kogi State Government spends its money or allocation.” He explained that beyond identifying the beneficiaries, he had no insight into the purpose of the state’s transactions.
Prosecution counsel Kemi Pinheiro (SAN) informed the court that Bata had no further evidence to give, and he was discharged.
Following Bata, the fifth prosecution witness, Jesutoni Akoni, a Compliance Officer with Ecobank Plc, was examined by EFCC counsel Chukwudi Enebeli (SAN). Akoni tendered a subpoena written to Ecobank and the statement of account of Moses Ailetu Companies from January 1 to 31, 2016, which was admitted as Exhibit 29.
He identified different columns in the statement and confirmed cash deposits ranging from ₦3 million to ₦20 million, totaling ₦57 million. On cross-examination, Akoni stated that former Governor Bello was not a beneficiary and that the source of the funds could not be determined from the documents.
The EFCC then called its sixth witness, Mohammed Bello Hassan, a relationship officer with Keystone Bank, who produced the statements of account for Dantata and Sawoe. These were admitted into evidence without objection from the defence.
The seventh prosecution witness, Olomotame Egoro, a compliance officer from Access Bank, confirmed he brought 12 sets of requested documents. He told the court, “We supplied sufficient customer details that were extracted from the account opening packages at the time the customer opened the account.”
While the defence did not object to the admission of the statements themselves, Daudu SAN challenged the inclusion of the extractions attached to the accounts, arguing they were beyond the scope of the subpoena. Pinheiro SAN responded, “Based on our request, he brought other documents believing that we may be in need. We did not actually request those documents.”
With these testimonies, the EFCC has continued to emphasize that the fund withdrawals by Kogi State Government complied with banking regulations, and there is no evidence showing the former governor personally benefited from the transactions.
The trial is ongoing, with the EFCC expected to call additional witnesses in the coming sessions.
