The trial of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Adoza Bello, over an alleged ₦110.4 billion fraud continued on Thursday before Justice Maryanne Anineh of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Maitama, Abuja, with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) tendering additional bank records as evidence.
Bello is standing trial alongside Umar Shuaibu Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu on a 16-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust and money laundering. All the defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
At the resumed hearing on January 15, 2026, the prosecution, led by Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, proceeded with the cross-examination of Prosecution Witness Six (PW6), Mr Mashelia Arhyel Bata, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank.
During cross-examination by counsel to the first and second defendants, J.B. Daudu, SAN, the witness clarified entries contained in Exhibit S1, a statement of account earlier tendered in evidence. Bata explained that transaction descriptions reflected cheque payments and transfers, including a ₦10 million cheque paid to Abdulsalami Hudu on January 20, 2016, and another payment of ₦2,454,400 to Halims Hotels and Tours, Lokoja.
The witness, however, maintained that he could not determine the purpose for which the funds were utilised, stating that the narration alone did not disclose the reasons for the transactions.
Further questioning centred on Exhibit X1, identified as the account opening documents and statement of account of a company domiciled at Zenith Bank’s Lokoja branch. Bata testified to multiple inflows and outflows, including credits from the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service and withdrawals by authorised signatories.
He disclosed that on December 6, 2016, the account received a credit of ₦74,378,483.20 from the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service, followed by a ₦10 million cheque payment to Mohammed Jami’u Sallau. Similar transactions, he said, appeared repeatedly in the account, including payments described as “security fund” and “His Excellency Special Sec Vote.”
Cross-examined by Z.B. Abbas on behalf of the third defendant, the witness confirmed that withdrawals from the Government House account were made by cheque and duly signed by authorised signatories. He identified the signatories as Chris Onyepola, Permanent Secretary; Onyechukwu Daniel L., Chief Accountant; and Abdulsalami Hudu, Accountant.
An objection by the prosecution to a suggestion that the third defendant was merely performing his duties as an accountant was upheld by the court.
Following the conclusion of PW6’s testimony, the prosecution called Prosecution Witness Seven (PW7), Mohammed Bello Hassan, an executive trainee with Keystone Bank, who appeared pursuant to a subpoena. Through him, the EFCC tendered the statement of account of Dantata and Sawoe Construction for the period January 1 to December 31, 2021.
PW7 testified to multiple credit entries of ₦10 million each in February 2021, amounting to ₦100 million, allegedly transferred in tranches by Maigari Murtala and Yusuf Mubarak. Under cross-examination, he admitted that he was not the account officer and had no personal knowledge of the account holders or signatories.
The prosecution also called Prosecution Witness Eight (PW8), Gabriel Ocha, a compliance officer with FCMB, who tendered account documents relating to Kunfayakun Global Limited. He testified to several high-value transactions in November 2021, including a ₦30 million debit in favour of the American International School and multiple ₦10 million transfers.
Prosecution Witness Nine (PW9), A.D. Ojoma, a compliance officer with Sterling Bank, subsequently testified on transactions involving Bespoke Business Solutions Limited. He identified several large credit entries from the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service in 2019, including payments exceeding ₦138 million, ₦136 million and ₦183 million, as well as a ₦242.25 million transaction for the purchase of OBPEH.
Justice Anineh adjourned the matter until Friday, January 16, 2026, for the continuation of the trial.
