A lawyer on Monday testified how a man identified as Shehu Bello purchased a property in Wuse II, Abuja, for N650 million in the ongoing trial of Yahaya Bello, former Kogi State governor.
The lawyer, James Bem Igbakymeh, gave the testimony before Judge Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja, as the 11th prosecution witness in the case.
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Mr Igbakymeh told the court that in October 2021, his client instructed him to sell a property at Plot 1058, Cadastral Zone A08, Wuse II, Abuja.
The witness said he placed a banner on the property to attract prospective buyers, after which Mr Shehu Bello contacted him.
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“He inquired about my office and came to meet me to negotiate the purchase of the property,” he said.
He said after negotiations, both parties agreed on a price of N650 million. The witness explained that the money was paid in installments into three designated accounts provided by his client.
He listed the three accounts as SFC Foods Limited in Polaris Bank, JIT Agric Limited in Polaris Bank, and SFC Foods Limited in Heritage Bank.
The prosecution believes the funds are proceeds of unlawful activities linked to former Governor Bello. However, the witnesses who testified on Monday did not mention ex-governor’s name in any of the transactions.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Mr Bello, who served as governor of Kogi State from January 2016 to January 2024, on 19 counts of money laundering.
The charges allege diversion of N80.2 billion from the accounts of the Kogi State Government and some local governments while he was in office.
Mr Bello has denied the charges but faces related fraud charges involving alleged diversion of N110 billion from the state, with which he allegedly acquired houses in choice areas of Abuja and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The case is before the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Maitama, Abuja.
How Shehu Bello paid for Wuse property
According to a statement from EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale on Monday, the 11th prosecution witness told the court that N650 million was paid through different bureau de change operators before the property documents were handed over.
Mr Igbakymeh also said EFCC investigators later invited him during their investigation.
He said he honoured the invitation, wrote a statement, and submitted transaction documents to the commission.
When shown the Offer Letter and Deed of Assignment, the witness confirmed he could identified his signature.
The prosecution tendered the documents in evidence. Although the defence reserved objections until the final written address, Judge Nwite admitted the Deed of Assignment and the Offer Letter as Exhibits 44 and 45, respectively.
When asked to look at the last page of Exhibit 45, the witness said the assignee’s name was Ali Bello.
Asked whether Ali Bello and Shehu Bello were the same person, he replied, “No,” and explained that both men had appeared together during the negotiation process.
“My lord, during the transaction, Shehu Bello came to my office with Ali Bello on two occasions,” he said.
Under cross-examination, the witness admitted he did not prepare the Deed of Assignment.
“It was brought to me by the people who wanted to buy the property,” he said.
He confirmed that the assignee in the document was Ali Bello. After his testimony, he was discharged and EFCC called its 12th witness.
BDC operator testifies
The prosecution called its 12th lawyer, Mr Daudu, a bureau de change operator.
Mr Abdullahi said he owned three companies: Kunfayakun Global Limited, E-Traders International Limited, and De-Remita International Limited.
He confirmed making a statement to the EFCC in 2021, which the court admitted as Exhibit 36.
He said he was the signatory to the accounts of the companies and operated a personal account with Access Bank.
While identifying earlier admitted bank statements, he said Exhibit 33(1) was his personal account, Exhibit 33(6) belonged to E-Traders International Limited, and Exhibit 37(1) belonged to Kunfayakun Global Limited.
The witness said he met one Abba Adaudu in 2021 at Zenith Bank in Apo, Abuja, where they exchanged contacts after discovering he was into foreign exchange transactions.
Adaudu later sent funds to him for foreign exchange, which were deposited in tranches of N10 million each.
When shown transactions dated 29 and 30 December 2021, showing N60 million deposits at Access Bank, Lokoja, the witness said he did not personally make the deposits.
“My name was used as the narration, but I was not the one who paid the money. It was Abba Adaudu,” he said and added that he never visited the Access Bank branch in Lokoja.
Mr Abdullahi said he converted the funds to dollars and handed them to Adaudu and “the transactions lasted for more than a year.”
He explained that inflows were sometimes cash deposits and sometimes transfers from companies linked to Adaudu, including Keyless Nature Limited and Ejadams Essence Limited.
He said he sometimes instructed other companies to effect international transfers on his behalf, including school fees to the American International School.
While being led through multiple transactions in the E-Traders International Limited account, Mr Abdullahi confirmed several deposits running into hundreds of millions of naira were made on Abba Adaudu’s instructions between 2021 and 2022.
At a point, the witness said he was exhausted due to fasting and could not continue. The judge then stood down his testu to continue on the next adjourned date.
Court rules on admissibility of documents
At Monday’s proceedings, Judge Nwite ruled on the admissibility of documents relating to an alleged sale of Plot 1160, Cadastral Zone, Gwarimpa II, Abuja, reportedly sold for N100 million.
“In view of the above, I am of the opinion that the authorities cited are in tandem with the scenario at hand, where the prosecution has clearly put it before the court that the intent and purpose of tendering the documents is only to indicate the existence of a transaction and nothing more.
“Therefore, this Honourable Court holds that the documents sought to be tendered are admissible,” Mr Nwite ruled.
The court admitted the documents as Exhibits 42 (Irrevocable Power of Attorney) and 43 (Deed of Assignment).
Following the ruling, prosecution lawyer Chukwudi Enebeli, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), continued leading the 10th prosecution witness, Mahmoud Abdulaziz, an accountant with Dantata and Sawoe Construction Limited.
Mr Abdulaziz said Exhibit 31 was a Keystone Bank account statement belonging to Dantata and Sawoe Construction Limited. Exhibit 42 was the Irrevocable Power of Attorney between Dantata and Sawoe Construction Limited and Azba Real Estate Limited, and Exhibit 43 was the Deed of Assignment executed between the two companies.
He explained that Azba Real Estate Limited appeared on the Deed of Assignment because the construction company authorised the arrangement.
“My lord, Dantata and Sawoe gave consent and assigned Azba to execute the deed. They, Azba, then gave us the two documents. Our director signed on behalf of Dantata, and Ali Bello signed on behalf of Azba,” he said.
During cross-examination by defence counsel Joseph Daudu, a SAN, the witness admitted he was not present when the documents were signed. But said he could recognise the signatures of his company’s directors.
“My lord, I can identify the signatures of our two directors. The names are Mubarak Dantata and Nasiru A. Dantata,” he said.
He could not identify who signed on behalf of Azba Real Estate Limited. With no further questions, the witness was discharged.
EFCC calls for revocation of travel permission
Prosecution lawyer Kemi Pinheiro, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), moved a motion dated 2 February seeking to set aside an earlier order permitting the defendant to travel abroad.
Mr Pinheiro said the application was based on fresh developments and security concerns.
“My lord, we are just being careful and concerned that the defendant should remain in Nigeria to face his trial to prevent the possibility of extradition and incarceration in another country,” he said.
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However, Mr Bello’s lawyer, Mr Daudu, opposed the application, arguing that the defendant had already been granted bail, allowing freedom of movement, and remained presumed innocent.
Mr Dauda added that “allowing him to travel without removing the Red Notice is like giving him something with the left hand and collecting it back with the right hand.”
After hearing both parties, Judge Nwite adjourned the matter until 22, 23, and 24 April 2026, and 6 and 7 May for continuation of the trial.
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