The trial of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Adoza Bello, continued on Friday, January 30, 2026, before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja, with a prosecution witness alleging that funds from Kogi State local governments were paid into multiple private bank accounts in a manner designed to evade statutory reporting requirements.
Testifying as the seventh prosecution witness (PW7), Olomotane Egoro, a compliance officer with Access Bank Plc, told the court that the deposits were structured to remain below the ₦10 million threshold that triggers mandatory Currency Transaction Reports (CTR) to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).
Bello is standing trial on a 19-count charge of money laundering brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), involving an alleged sum of ₦80.24 billion.
Led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, Egoro identified several bank statements tendered as exhibits. He explained that Exhibit 33(5), domiciled at Access Bank’s National Assembly Branch in Abuja, reflected loan-related transactions, including disbursements and liquidation entries, dating back to March 21, 2018.
The witness also examined transactions between April 1 and May 21, 2020, noting that on April 1, 2020, a cash deposit of ₦7.25 million was made at Access Bank’s Lokoja Branch by Abigail Grace Amuda. He stated that 13 cash deposits were recorded on April 8, 2020, with additional deposits on May 7 and 12, bringing the total to 21 deposits, all below ₦10 million and all made at the Lokoja Branch.
According to Egoro, the deposits were deliberately structured to avoid the ₦10 million reporting threshold for corporate accounts. Defence counsel, Abdulwahab Mohammed, SAN, objected to this line of testimony, but Justice Nwite overruled the objection, holding that the witness was qualified to explain the banking and compliance implications of the transactions.
Egoro further identified Exhibit 33(10) as the statement of account of Keyless Nature Limited, domiciled at Access Bank’s Lokoja Branch. He told the court that between September 30, 2021, and February 23, 2024, the account received multiple credit inflows from various Kogi State local government areas. He added that the inflows were often followed almost immediately by transfers to another Keyless Nature Limited account held at Fidelity Bank.
He cited several transactions between March and July 2022 in which transfers to the Fidelity Bank account occurred shortly after funds were received from local governments.
Another exhibit, 33(4), relating to Hayzma Business Enterprise, also domiciled at the Lokoja Branch of Access Bank, showed multiple deposits from local governments on August 28, 2020. Egoro testified that in August 2020 alone, the account received ₦813.78 million from several local governments. He added that between August 20 and September 9, 2020, a total of ₦546.63 million was withdrawn in cash by one Yakubu Siyaka within a 12-day period.
The witness also identified Exhibit 33(11), another Keyless Nature Limited account, which he said received a ₦2.1 billion loan disbursement from Access Bank on December 14, 2021. He testified that withdrawals totalling ₦1.26 billion followed shortly after, while additional inflows from local governments were recorded between December 2021 and February 2024.
At the close of proceedings, defence counsel requested an adjournment, stating that the defence team required more time to review the documents tendered by the witness ahead of cross-examination. The prosecution opposed the request, arguing that the defence had been in possession of the documents for over a year and had obtained certified true copies.
Justice Nwite adjourned the matter to February 4 and 5, 2026, for the cross-examination of PW7 and continuation of hearing.
