EFCC Trial: Witness Confirms Kogi Funds Withdrawals Within Legal Limits

The fourth prosecution witness of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the alleged ₦80.2 billion money laundering case against Yahaya Bello, former governor of Kogi state, has reaffirmed that withdrawals made by the state government did not violate any banking regulations.

During cross-examination before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Monday, Mshelia Arhyel Bata, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank, also confirmed that Bello’s name did not appear as a beneficiary in the account tendered as evidence.

Joseph Daudu, counsel to the defendant, drew the witness’s attention to certain withdrawals made by one Umar Comfort Olufunke, which the prosecution had not highlighted. The prosecution had previously focused on transactions involving Abdulsalam Hudu, cashier of the Kogi state government house.

According to Bata, withdrawals made by Hudu — mostly in tranches of ₦10 million — took place between December 2017 and April 2018 and were directed to several hotels in Kogi state. He also confirmed that withdrawals by one Alhassan Omakoji between November 2021 and December 2022, none exceeding ₦10 million, complied with the withdrawal limits set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

He said he was not aware of any law regulating how a state government spends its allocations, noting that, apart from the beneficiaries, it was impossible for him to determine the purpose of the transactions.

The prosecution counsel, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), declined re-examination and requested that the witness be discharged.

At the previous sitting, Bata had confirmed that Bello was neither a signatory to nor connected with any of the accounts presented as evidence. He also stated that throughout Exhibit 22A — covering pages 24 to 413 — the former governor was not listed as a beneficiary of any transaction.

After Bata’s testimony, the EFCC called its fifth witness, Jesutoni Akoni, a compliance officer with Ecobank Plc. Led in evidence by prosecution counsel Chukwudi Enebeli (SAN), Akoni presented a subpoena sent to Ecobank, which was admitted in evidence.

The EFCC also tendered a statement of account belonging to Moses Ailetu companies, covering January 1 to January 31, 2016, alongside a certificate of identification. The defence did not oppose the tendering, and it was admitted as Exhibit 29.

Akoni confirmed that the deposits, which ranged between ₦3 million and ₦20 million and totalled ₦57 million, did not carry Bello’s name. “None of them carries the name Yahaya Bello,” he said under cross-examination.

He also stated that it was not possible to determine the source of the deposits from the face of the documents.

The sixth witness, Mohammed Bello Hassan, a relationship officer with Keystone Bank, appeared under subpoena and tendered the statements of account of Dantata and Sawoe, which were admitted in evidence without objection.

The seventh witness, Olomotame Egoro, a compliance officer with Access Bank, was then led in evidence by Pinheiro. He confirmed submitting 12 sets of documents requested by the prosecution, including account opening details.

Daudu, however, objected to the inclusion of some extra documents, describing them as “extraneous.” The prosecution subsequently detached the documents deemed irrelevant.

Justice Nwite adjourned the case to November 11, 2025, for continuation of trial.