Court Adjourns Yahaya Bello’s Alleged Money Laundering Case to March 10
The alleged money laundering trial of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, was on Wednesday adjourned to March 10, 11 and 12, 2026, after a prosecution witness told a Federal High Court in Abuja that the transactions under review did not violate any banking regulations.
The 10th prosecution witness of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Olomotane Egoro, a Compliance Officer with Access Bank Plc, testified before Justice Maryann Anenih that the cash withdrawals highlighted in his evidence complied with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) guidelines.
Egoro, who said he has been with Access Bank since May 2023, confirmed that Aminu Jimoh Olanrewaju — earlier identified as having made withdrawals from the Kogi State Government House Administration Account — was one of the account’s signatories. According to him, documents in the account opening package indicated that Olanrewaju is a civil servant and serves as Director of Accounts in the Kogi State Government Administration.
Under cross-examination, the witness stated that as a bank official, he had no knowledge of how the Kogi Government House Account was managed internally and could not determine the ultimate purpose of withdrawn funds beyond the descriptions provided in the transaction records.
He also told the court that Bello’s name did not appear in any of the transactions presented and clarified that the former governor was neither a local government chairman nor directly linked to the financial entries under review.
Responding to questions from defence counsel Paul Daudu, SAN, Egoro confirmed that a transaction dated May 6, 2022, showed a payment of N14,453,900.84 for the supply of reading materials to Okene Local Government. He further identified other payments covering sporting equipment, agrochemicals, farm inputs and medical consumables.
The witness specified that a N10.6 million lodgement from Ibaji Local Government’s statutory revenue was designated for agrochemicals, while N7.3 million from Mopa Muro Local Government was for relief materials. Another N9.9 million from Ofu Local Government was also listed for the procurement of agrochemicals.
During proceedings, the court admitted a subpoena issued by the Managing Director of Access Bank, which included statements of account for the Kogi State Government House Administration from January 2016 to January 2024. The documents also covered accounts belonging to several companies, including Westwood Motors Limited, Fozad Oil and Gas Limited, Bespoque Global Concept Limited, E-Traders International Limited and Keyless Nature Limited, among others.
Counsel to the second and third defendants, Z.E. Abbas, objected to the admissibility of the documents, arguing that the certificate of identification did not comply with provisions of the Evidence Act.
He said he would elaborate on his objection in his final written address.
Prosecution counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, dismissed the objection as speculative, stating that he would also respond fully at the address stage. Justice Anenih admitted the documents in evidence but noted that their weight and admissibility could be revisited if the objection was substantiated.
The Kogi Government House Administration Account statements were marked as Exhibits AH1 and AH2, while statements relating to 11 companies were tendered as Exhibits AG to AR.
Pinheiro directed the witness to confirm credit inflows into Exhibit AH1 from the Kogi State Government House between December 2018 and August 2019. Egoro acknowledged that withdrawals were made during that period by Aminu Jimoh Olanrewaju and Abdulsalami Hudu.
He also confirmed multiple cash withdrawals on December 24, 2018, and stated that the bank filed Suspicious Transaction Reports with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) in accordance with regulatory requirements.
The witness further noted that several N10 million withdrawals were made between January 15 and 16, 2018, by Olanrewaju, and another withdrawal occurred on March 8 by Hudu.
Regarding Exhibit AP, relating to Fazab Business Enterprise, Egoro testified that the account received multiple credit inflows from various local government areas in May 2022, followed by cash withdrawals carried out by Yakubu Siyaka Adabenege.
Despite acknowledging the volume and pattern of transactions, the witness maintained under cross-examination that the withdrawals complied with CBN regulations and did not contravene any law.
Following the proceedings, Justice Anenih adjourned the matter to March 10, 11 and 12, 2026, for continuation of cross-examination.
