The Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja, on Thursday, adjourned further hearing in the ongoing money laundering case against the former Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, to November 12, 2025. The adjournment came after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) presented its sixth witness in the case.
The trial, presided over by Justice Maryann Anenih, resumed with the prosecution calling its fifth witness, Mrs. Victoria Oluwafemi, a compliance officer with Polaris Bank. She gave detailed testimony on the movement of funds into and out of the bank accounts linked to the defendants.
According to Oluwafemi, the total inflows into the account under investigation amounted to ₦450 million in November 2021 alone. She explained that the funds came from multiple senders and that withdrawals were typically made in denominations of ₦10 million.
During cross-examination by Chief Joseph Daudu, SAN, counsel to the first defendant, the witness admitted that she was neither the account officer nor the relationship manager for the accounts in question. She stated that her role was limited to verifying compliance-related records within the bank’s system.
Pressed further, she acknowledged that she could not personally attest to how the transactions were initiated or processed since she was not directly managing the accounts.
Counsel to the second defendant, A.M. Aliyu, also cross-examined the witness, pointing out that the name “Abdulsalam Hudu” did not appear in the section of Exhibit M referenced by the prosecution. The witness confirmed, “That is correct. Abdulsalam Hudu’s name did not feature.”
The EFCC then called its sixth witness, Mr. Mshelia Arhyel B, for further testimony. However, Daudu, SAN, noted that he was still cross-examining the same witness in another case with similar subject matter before a different court.
Justice Anenih ruled that the present case was an independent proceeding and that the defence was free to continue or defer cross-examination at its discretion.
During the session, the prosecution attempted to tender a 218-page statement of account belonging to Alusha Services Limited through the witness. The defence team, however, raised objections, citing non-compliance with Sections 83 and 84 of the Evidence Act.
Both Daudu and Aliyu, representing the first and second defendants respectively, argued that the documents failed to meet the statutory requirements for admissibility and promised to address the issue more extensively at a later stage.
Prosecution counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, urged the court to dismiss the objections, insisting that the documents were properly certified and admissible. Justice Anenih subsequently admitted the statement of account in evidence as Exhibit P1 en bloc.
Under questioning, the witness confirmed that multiple withdrawals of ₦10 million each occurred between February 2016 and May 2022, but maintained that the transactions were within the regulatory threshold. He calculated total transactions at ₦707,267,000 as of January 31, 2018.
The witness further identified several foreign currency transfers involving Aleshua Solutions Services, including a $2,500 payment by B.O. Rosemary Chukwuma and two additional transfers of $5,000 each to one Yau.
He also confirmed that in December 2016, payments totalling ₦202 million were made from the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service to the account under review.
Justice Anenih, noting that the court session must end by 3 p.m., adjourned further hearing to November 12 and 13, 2025, for continuation of the sixth witness’s cross-examination.
At the previous hearing, the EFCC’s third witness, Williams Abimbola of UBA, had testified that no banking regulations were breached by the defendants, confirming that the transactions were consistent with standard banking procedures.