The trial of a former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, continued on Wednesday at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja, as a Zenith Bank compliance officer testified about multiple cash withdrawals from Kogi State Government accounts.
Mashelia Bata, the sixth prosecution witness (PW6), told the court that between 2016 and 2018, large sums were withdrawn from the state’s accounts, allegedly by Abdulsalami Hudu and others.
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Led in evidence by EFCC lawyer Kemi Pinheiro, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr Bata described a pattern of multiple cash withdrawals and transfers from Kogi State Government accounts between 2016 and 2018, allegedly conducted by Mr Hudu and others.
“On February 12, 2016, there were 21 withdrawals by Abdulsalami Hudu, totalling N200 million,” Mr Bata testified. “Similarly, on 10 March 2016, I observed numerous withdrawals amounting to N326,598,750, though the actual total was N100 million.”
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He told the court that similar withdrawals occurred on 3, 8, and 10 June 2016, with N100 million, N100 million, and N119 million withdrawn, respectively.
The witness said the pattern of large cash withdrawals continued through July and August 2016.
“Between 8 and 29 July, there were consistent cash withdrawals made by Abdulsalami Hudu,” he said. “The same pattern continued into August.”
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Mr Bata also detailed inflows from various sources. “On 2 August 2016, N50 million came from the Kogi State statutory revenue account; on 9 August, N50 million from Idhu Integrated Services; and on 10 August, N15.5 million from the Ministry of Finance,” he stated.
He said the withdrawals persisted into September and October.
“On 31 August 2016, there were 21 cash withdrawals totalling N188,741,000. On 27 October, there were another 21 withdrawals amounting to N188,216,155, and on 21 December 2016, 40 withdrawals were made the same day by the same individual,” he explained.
He added that on 9 May 2017, N203,240,000 was withdrawn through 29 transactions; on 12 October, 36 withdrawals were made; and on 1 November, 20 withdrawals totalling N200 million occurred.
By 30 and 31 January 2018, cash withdrawals of N350 million and N347,267,000 were recorded, followed by N300 million and N99,177,300 on 1 and 2 February, totalling N1.09 billion in four days.
Mr Bata further confirmed that the account balance dropped to zero on 14 November 2016, before receiving a credit of N74.3 million on 6 December, followed by cash withdrawals totalling N30 million by Mohammed Salihu.
He said N40 million was later transferred to Echies Designs and Cost Associate Limited, while N202.3 million credited from the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service on 21 April 2017, was followed by 18 withdrawals totalling N167 million.
The witness identified other transactions, including an inflow of N92.4 million on 9 August 2017, followed by N52 million in withdrawals the next day, N261.8 million credited on 14 August, and N70 million transferred via NEFT to Efab Properties on 17 August.
He also mentioned N18 million withdrawn by Umar Comfort and N10 million by Mr Hudu after a N50 million inflow from the Kogi State revenue account.
The EFCC also tendered Exhibit R1, a US dollar account statement belonging to Whales Oil and Gas, showing a transfer of $11,000 to “Academic Services Farida Oricha” at the American International School.
Mr Bata further identified Exhibit P1, the statement of Alyeshua Solutions Services, showing debit entries of $42,170 and $78,160 for Naima Ohunene Bello and Fatima Oziohu Bello, respectively, both to the same school in Abuja.
Adjournment
Following the lengthy testimony, defence lawyer Abdullahi Yahaya sought an adjournment to allow lead defence lawyer Joseph Daudu, also SAN, to cross-examine the witness.
He argued that more time was needed to review the evidence.
EFCC lawyer Ms Pinheiro objected, saying there was no valid reason for the adjournment.
“EFCC is a serious agency; we are ready to proceed daily to conclude this matter. Adjournments should not be granted as a matter of course unless there’s a cogent reason,” she argued.
The trial judge, Maryanne Anineh, ruled that while adjournments are discretionary, the request could be granted in the interest of justice.
She adjourned the trial to Thursday for cross-examination and continuation.
Background
PREMIUM TIMES had reported that Mr Bata said he believed the withdrawals did not breach any banking law.
He made the statement while being cross-examined by the defence team, including Messrs Bello, Hudu and Umar Oricha’s lawyer, Mr Daudu, before Judge Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja in a related case.
He added that Mr Bello’s name did not appear as a beneficiary in the account statements presented as evidence.
Mr Bata, who earlier testified as the fourth prosecution witness (PW-4), continued his evidence-in-chief in the trial of Mr Bello, who is standing trial alongside Messrs Oricha and Hudu on a 16-count of criminal breach of trust and money laundering involving N110.4 billion.
In October, another prosecution witness, Abimbola Williams, a compliance officer with the United Bank for Africa (UBA), told the court that the former Kogi State Government House accountant, Mr Hudu, withdrew over N1 billion from the Government House account within nine months.
Ms Williams said N640 million of the sum was withdrawn within six days between 31 July and 6 August 2019, through 64 transactions.
She noted that several of the withdrawals were recorded as “special security funds” for Mr Bello and his administration.
She testified that although no single withdrawal exceeded N10 million, the cumulative sums triggered suspicious transaction reports.
She also confirmed that Mr Hudu was among the 15 signatories to the government account.
After her testimony, an Ecobank compliance officer, Jesutomi Akoni, appeared as the fourth prosecution witness and tendered documents admitted as Exhibits H and J, while a Polaris Bank official, Victoria Oluwafemi, was presented as the fifth witness.
Her evidence was deferred to the next sitting.
Mr Bello, who served as governor from January 2016 to January 2024, and his co-defendants were arraigned on 27 November 2024, and all pleaded not guilty.
The EFCC alleges that Mr Bello conspired with others to divert over N110 billion from Kogi State’s coffers and laundered part of the funds to acquire properties in Abuja and Dubai.
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