Bello’s Trial: Witness spotlights funds transfers, cash withdrawals on Kogi LGs’, Govt House’s accounts

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The FCT High Court in Abuja heard from a witness on Wednesday details of slews of transfers from the accounts of some local governments in Kogi State to the accounts of multiple companies, and cash withdrawals from the Kogi State Government House Administration (KSGHA).

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Former Governor Yahaya Bello’s co-defendant in a money laundering trial, Abdulsalami Hudu, was said to be at the heart of the controversial Government House transactions.

While Mr Hudu was mentioned in the testimony, the names of the two other defendants – the names of Mr Bello and Umar Shuaibu Oricha – did not feature in the 10th prosecution witness, Olomotane Egoro’s testimony on Wednesday.

All three defendants were present in court and represented by their lawyers during the proceedings.

The witness, a compliance officer with Access Bank Plc, said during cross-examination by the defence lawyers that he did not know if Mr Hudu was employed by the Kogi State Government House.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Messrs Bello, Oricha and Hudu for alleged diversion of N110 billion belonging to the Kogi State Government’s treasury.

According to the EFCC, Mr Bello, who served two terms as the governor of Kogi from January 2016 to January 2024, conspired alongside his co-defendants and stole funds to acquire properties for himself, located in choice areas of Abuja and one in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

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The defendants denied the charges.

EFCC presents 13 statements of accounts

On Wednesday, the EFCC, through the witness, presented the statements of accounts of these companies and individuals: the Kogi State Government House (Administration), WestWood Motors Limited, Jamilu Abdullahi, Forza Oil and Gas Limited and Bespoque Global Concepts.

Others are the statements of accounts of Vifaz Multi-Bus Investment Company, Hayzma Business Enterprise, Fazad Business Enterprise, and Ishaya Adamu Jagafa.

There were also two account statements belonging to both E-traders International Limited and Keyless Nature Limited.

Mr Bello’s defence lawyer, Paul Daudu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, did not object to their admissibility, but Z.E Abbas objected on the grounds that all the certificates of identification that came along with the statements of accounts did not comply with the provisions of the Evidence Act.

The trial judge, Maryann Anenih, admitted the document but reserved the ruling of their admissibility.

Withdrawals by Mr Hudu

According to the witness, there were several inflows from the Kogi State House Account to the Administration’s account between the period of December 2018 and August 2019.

Immediately after such inflows, there were recurrent withdrawals by Aminu Olarenwaju and Mr Hudu (the third defendant) during the period, the witness said.

He noted that in December 2018, there were “more cash withdrawals from the account.”

He said based on the withdrawals, the bank (Access Bank) “filed a Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) because the transactions did not align with the customer’s profile.”

For instance, on 8 March 2019, there were 10 cash withdrawals of N10 million each by Mr Olarenwaju and 30 cash withdrawals of N10 million each by Mr Hudu, totalling N300 million on 1 August 2019, the witness said.

However, during cross-examination of the witness by the defence lawyers, the witness said Mr Olarenwaju was a signatory to the account and Director of Accounts.

He also noted that he did not know the purpose of the withdrawals by both Messrs Hudu and Olarenwaju, and their withdrawals did not exceed the threshold set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Dispute over presentation of STR

Mr Daudu – the lawyer to Mr Bello – demanded a copy of the STR filed by the bank.

However, the witness said it was filed on the NFIU portal, and the bank only had an Excel sheet of what was filed.

When asked why the STR was not filed in court, the witness said, “It is not listed here because by law we are not mandated to disclose what was filed in the STR to the NFIU.”

Reacting to the answer, Mr Daudu asked the witness to state the law prohibiting the disclosure of the STR to the court.

Mr Pinheiro objected on the grounds that the question was inappropriate and there was no subpoena for the STR.

The trial judge, Maryann Anenih, sustained the objection, agreeing that the question was inappropriate. The judge said, “If you want it (STR), you should ask for it.”

Thereafter, Mr Daudu asked the witness if Messrs Bello and Oricha featured in the Kogi State Government House (Administration) account statement. He replied, “No.”

Deposits by LGs to companies

According to the witness, some local governments in Kogi State deposited funds into the Fazad Business Enterprise (FBE) account in Access Bank. The entire amount was not stated.

However, the witness noted that from his observations of the account statement, there were several cash withdrawals by Yakubu Siyaka.

Mr Egoro said the transactions “were structured to evade the reporting requirement of the bank. However, the bank still filed STR on the transactions.”

In May 2022, the local governments transferred over N117.9 million into the company’s account, and Mr Siyaka withdrew over N116.6 million.

Similarly, in June and July 2022, he said, FBE received over N241.6 million from the local governments, and Mr Siyaka withdrew over N203.9 million.

Under cross-examination by Mr Daudu, the witness told the court that Mr Bello was not the chairman of the local governments featured in the account statement.

The witness also said he was not aware of the relationship between FBE and the local governments.

Reasons for transfers

Pointing out certain transactions, the witness said some narrations on the account statement of FBE were for specific payments.

These included the supply of reading materials by Okene Local Government (IG), totalling N14.4 million, medical consumables by Okehi LG, N7 million, Ogori Magongo, educational materials N4.4 million and Omala LG sporting materials, N10.8 million.

Other payments included procurement of medical consumables by Yagba LG, N12.2 million, procurement of Agro-chemicals by Dekina LG, N8.8 million and Igbaji LG, N10.6 million.

Mopa-Moro LG transferred N7.3 million for relief materials, Ofu LG, N9.1 million for Agro-chemicals; Ajaokuta LG, N7.7 million for medical consumables, and N11 million for educational materials by Okene LG.

Thereafter, the judge adjourned the case until 10 March for continuation of cross-examination.

E-Traders International Limited

Earlier in the proceedings, the witness identified Abba Adaudu, whose name appeared in the E-Traders International Limited account statements between 18 January and 30 April 2022.

The witness noted that Mr Adaudu made multiple cash deposits into the E-Traders account at the Lokoja branch of Access Bank.

In an effort to link these deposits with subsequent withdrawals at FBE, Mr Pinheiro asked the witness to confirm the specific branch involved. The witness replied, “Lokoja branch.”

Hayzma Business Enterprise

Similarly, there were several credit entries from multiple local governments in Kogi State into HBE.

The witness further testified that the name of Mr Siyaka also appears in the statement of account as having made withdrawals.

When asked to confirm if the cash withdrawals were immediately after the credit entries, the witness replied, “Yes.”

Keyless Nature Limited

From January to July 2022, the witness stated that Kogi State local governments also transferred money to KNL, and certain transfers were made to Mr Adaudu, including N20 million.

Also, N80 million was also transferred to another KNL account, Keyless Fidelity and a second KNL account.

In November 2022, a company, Ajadams Excellence Limited, received N20.5 million from KNL, the witness said.

Loan disbursements and credit entries from LGs

The second KNL account in the Lokoja Branch received a loan disbursement of N2.1 billion.

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After this, there were multiple credit entries from the local governments in Kogi State, he said.

The witness further noted a consistent pattern of transactions from January to July, stating that every 14 days, with the exception of May 16, “there was repayment of both principal and interest liquidation.”

According to the witness, the source of funds (amount not stated) was “the credit from the local government of Kogi State.”

Similarly, there was over N818.6million disbursement into WestWood Motors Limited (WML)’s account. They consisted of 15 cash deposits by several individuals in May and June.

The witness testified that the cash deposits made at the Lokoja branch were specifically used to pay down the existing loan in the account.

However, the witness noted a discrepancy. He said while the transactions occurred in Lokoja, the account was actually domiciled at the National Assembly branch in Abuja.

Just like previous testimonies of other witnesses, there has yet to be clarity regarding the specific individuals and companies mentioned in the witnesses’ testimonies. Nevertheless, further developments in the case are expected to bring these details into focus.

Similarly, the 10th prosecution witness gave a similar account of the transactions in a twin case at the Federal High Court, Abuja, where Mr Bello is embroiled in another N80.2 billion money laundering case.