The trial of former Kogi State governor, Yahaya Adoza Bello, resumed on Tuesday at the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja, with fresh revelations of huge cash withdrawals and questionable fund movements through Kogi State’s Local Government accounts.
Bello, who governed Kogi State from 2016 to 2024, is standing trial on a 19-count charge of money laundering to the tune of ₦80.2 billion, brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
At the hearing before Justice Emeka Nwite, the seventh prosecution witness, Olomotane Egoro, a compliance officer with Access Bank, detailed several large cash transactions involving the Kogi State Government House Administrative Account and other linked accounts.
Led in evidence by EFCC counsel Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, Egoro confirmed a series of withdrawals and deposits documented in exhibits already admitted before the court. He identified Exhibits 34(1) and 34(2) as the account’s opening package and statement of account, covering January 1, 2016, to January 31, 2024.
Reviewing the transactions, Egoro pointed to cash movements on December 21, 2018, when ₦10 million was withdrawn three times in favour of Aminu Jimoh Olarenwaju, followed by five additional ₦10 million withdrawals on December 24, 2018, amounting to ₦50 million.
He further revealed that on March 8, 2019, ten separate withdrawals of ₦10 million each, totalling ₦100 million, were made to the same beneficiary. Another notable transaction occurred on August 1, 2019, when the account recorded 30 withdrawals of ₦10 million each—a cumulative ₦300 million—paid to Abdulsalami Hudu.
Egoro testified that ₦300 million had been deposited into the account just a day earlier, on July 31, 2019, before being withdrawn in full the next day—a pattern he described as “suspicious.”
Funds from Local Governments Channelled Through Private Enterprise
The EFCC also tendered Exhibit 33(8), the statement of account for Faza Business Enterprise, which the witness confirmed originated from Access Bank. The document, covering transactions from January 2019 to December 2022, showed significant inflows from multiple Kogi State Local Government statutory and VAT accounts.
On May 6, 2022, the Faza account, which had a balance of only ₦75,728, received cumulative transfers of ₦103.3 million from 11 local government areas, including Omala, Yagba West, Idah, Okene, Ijumu, and Ofu. By May 9, 2022, additional transfers from Ibaji and Dekina LGAs brought the total inflows to about ₦117 million.
Egoro testified that these funds were subsequently withdrawn in cash by Yakubu Adebenege Siyaka through a series of cheque transactions between May 9 and May 26, 2022, leaving a closing balance of about ₦1.4 million.
Following the witness’s testimony, Justice Nwite adjourned the matter to January 29–30 and February 4–5, 2026, for continuation of trial.
Separate Trial Adjourned at FCT High Court
In a related case, Justice Maryann Anenih of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Abuja, on Wednesday, adjourned another money laundering trial involving the former governor to Thursday, November 13, 2025.
The adjournment followed a request from Bello’s counsel, Joseph Daudu, SAN, to allow time for the cross-examination of the EFCC’s sixth witness, Mshelia Arhyel Bata, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank.
During Tuesday’s proceedings, Bata had detailed several withdrawals of ₦10 million each from the Kogi State Government House Administration Account between February 2016 and February 2018, which he said totalled ₦1.09 billion as of February 2, 2018.
He confirmed that the account’s first inflow, ₦74.378 million, was received on December 6, 2016, and that subsequent withdrawals were made in favour of Muhammed Jamiu Salau. The witness also acknowledged inflows from the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service (KGIRS).
The EFCC counsel further directed the witness to examine Exhibit R1, a U.S. dollar account statement for Wales Oil and Gas, which showed an $11,000 foreign transfer to Farida Oricha on November 12, 2021.
Bata also reviewed Exhibit P1 En Bloc, a domiciliary account statement belonging to Aleshua Solutions Services Limited, confirming debit entries linked to foreign payments to the American International School.
After the testimony, Daudu requested a brief adjournment to continue cross-examination, which Justice Anenih granted.
The twin trials represent one of the EFCC’s most high-profile corruption cases in recent years, as the commission seeks to trace billions allegedly siphoned from Kogi State’s coffers during Bello’s administration.
