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).
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).
The defendants denied the charges.
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.
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).
