Yahaya Bello's Trial: How deposits from Kogi LGs were disbursed to private accounts

A compliance officer with Access Bank Plc, Olomotane Egoro, on Friday, told the Federal High Court in Abuja that inflows from Kogi State local governments were deposited into multiple private bank accounts.

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The seventh prosecution witness, who began his testimony Thursday in the ongoing trial of Mr Bello, told the judge, Emeka Nwite, that the funds were deposited and withdrawn in a structured manner that avoided filing Currency Transaction Reports (CTR) with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).

He disclosed that millions of naira moved through several accounts before being further withdrawn or transferred to other entities.

Led in his evidence-in-chief by prosecution lawyer, Kemi Pinheiro, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), the witness told the court that the funds were channelled through accounts belonging to companies including Fazab Business Enterprise, E-traders International Limited, Keyless Nature Limited, and Hayzma Business Enterprise, before being withdrawn or moved to other accounts.

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 alleged diversion of N80.2 billion from the accounts of the Kogi State Government and some local governments in the state while he was in office.

Mr Bello has denied the charges.

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Mr Egoro is the seventh prosecution witness called by the EFCC to prove its case. Earlier prosecuting wit eases included bank officials, who detailed transactions from Kogi State accounts into private accounts.

Earlier on Thursday, Mr Egoro, provided detailed testimony on the transactions, explaining how funds from the local governments moved through multiple private accounts.

According to him, two entities: Fazab Business Enterprise and E-traders International Limited were at the heart of the transactions. He showed how Fazab Business Enterprise received funds directly from the local governments and how cash was deposited in E-traders International Limited.

After his testimony Thursday, the trial was adjourned to continue hearing from him today (Friday)

Structured cash deposits

On Friday, the witness named other private accounts that were involved in the transactions.

According to a statement by Dele Oyewale, EFCC’s head of media and publicity, the witness identified Exhibit 33(5) and told the court that the account was domiciled at the National Assembly branch of Access Bank, Abuja.

He explained that a transaction dated 21 March 2018, reflected a loan disbursement to a customer and included entries such as principal interest liquidation and final entry liquidation.

The witness examined transactions between 1 April and 21 May 2020 and said that on 1 April 2020, Abigail Grace Amuda deposited N7.25 million (N7,250,000) at the Lokoja branch of Access Bank on Murtala Mohammed Way.

He told the court that entries on 8 April 2020 totalled 13 cash deposits, while additional deposits on 7 and 12 May 2020 brought the total to 21.

According to the witness, all 21 deposits were made at the Lokoja branch, and each was below N10,000,000.

The witness explained that N10 million is the reporting threshold for corporate accounts, above which banks are required to file a Currency Transaction Report (CTR) with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).

He added that the deposits appeared structured to evade the reporting requirement

But Mr Bello’s lawyer, Abdulwahab Mohammed, also a SAN, objected to the line of questioning.

However, the trial judge, Mr Nwite, overruled the objection and noted that the witness was qualified to shed light on the subject matter.

Continuing, Mr Egoro identified Exhibit 33(10), the statement of account of Keyless Nature Limited, an Access Bank customer domiciled at the Lokoja branch with account number 1496568739.

He said that between 30 September 2021 and 23 February 2024, the account recorded multiple credit inflows from different local government areas of Kogi State.

He added that immediately after the inflows from the local governments, there were outflows in the form of transfers to another Keyless Nature Limited account outside Access Bank.

Mr Egoro cited transactions dated 3 March, 4 April, 5 May, 3 June, and 5 July 2022, which, he said, showed transfers from Keyless Nature Limited to Keyless Nature Limited at Fidelity Bank, occurring on the heels of inflows from the state’s local governments.

He also identified Exhibit 33(4), the statement of account of Hayzma Business Enterprise, with account number 1392197091, domiciled at the Lokoja branch. The witness noted that “deposits from the local governments into the account on 28 August 2020 totalled 14, while outflows showed multiple cash withdrawals by one Yakubu Siyaka.”

He further told the court that in August 2020 alone, “Hayzma Business Enterprise received N813,777,893.40 from several local governments, and that between 20 August and 9 September 2020, N546,628,000 was withdrawn in cash by Yakubu Siyaka within 12 days,” all from the Lokoja Branch of Access Bank.

The witness identified another Keyless Nature Limited account, Exhibit 33(11), account number 1456400204, domiciled at the Lokoja Branch.

He said a transaction dated 14 December 2021, described as “principal disbursement,” reflected a loan of N2,100,000,000 from Access Bank to Keyless Nature Limited.

He added that on 15 and 17 December 2021, withdrawals totalling about N1.3 billion (N1,259,473,000) were made, while entries on 24 and 30 December 2021 showed multiple credit inflows from various local governments.

Mr Egoro concluded that such inflows continued into the account up to 6 February 2024.

After his testimony, it was the turn of the defence to cross-examine him, but Mr Mohammed told the court that his team was not yet thorough with reviewing the documents tendered by the witness and requested more time.

Mr Pinheiro, the prosecution lawyer, however, argued that the documents had been with the defence for over a year and noted that they had even obtained certified true copies.

Nevertheless, Mr Nwite adjourned the matter until 4 and 5 February for the cross-examination of the witness.