The trial of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, over alleged ₦110.4 billion fraud continued on Thursday with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) tendering additional bank records before the Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja.
Bello is facing trial alongside Umar Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu on a 16-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust and money laundering.
The case is being presided over by Justice MaryAnne Anenih.
At the resumed hearing, the prosecution team, led by Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), continued its case with the cross-examination of the sixth prosecution witness, Mashelia Bata, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank.
Defence counsel to the first and second defendants, Joseph Daudu (SAN), questioned the witness on several transactions contained in Exhibit S1, a statement of account earlier admitted in evidence.
Bata explained that the “description” column of the statement reflected transaction details, citing entries such as a ₦10 million cheque issued to Abdulsalami Hudu on January 20, 2016, and another cheque payment of ₦2,454,400 to Halims Hotels and Tours in Lokoja.
He, however, told the court that he could not determine the purposes for which the funds were utilised.
The witness was also questioned on Exhibit X1, identified as account opening documents of a company account domiciled at Zenith Bank’s Lokoja branch.
He testified on several inflows and outflows recorded in December 2016, including a ₦74.37 million credit from the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service and a ₦10 million cheque issued to Mohammed Jami’u Sallau.
The EFCC further called Gabriel Ocha, a compliance officer with First City Monument Bank, as the eighth prosecution witness. Ocha tendered documents relating to Kunfayakun Global Limited covering transactions between 2018 and 2024.
He testified on transactions including a ₦30 million debit to the American International School, as well as multiple ₦10 million web transfers and NIBSS inflows recorded on November 1, 2021.
Another witness, A.D. Ojoma, a compliance officer with Sterling Bank, also testified for the prosecution.
He tendered the statement of account of Bespoke Business Solutions Limited and highlighted several large credit entries, including payments from the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service running into hundreds of millions of naira in 2019.
Justice Anenih adjourned the matter until Friday, January 16, 2026, for the continuation of trial.
Meanwhile, the Serving Overseer of Citadel Global Community Church, Pastor Tunde Bakare, has called for urgent judicial and institutional reforms, warning that corruption within Nigeria’s justice system continues to undermine national development.
Bakare made the call while delivering the keynote address at the 22nd Chief Gani Fawehinmi Annual Lecture organised by the Nigerian Bar Association, Ikeja Branch.
He lamented what he described as an integrity deficit among judges and lawyers, citing political interference in judicial appointments and conflicting court judgments as major challenges confronting the sector.
Also speaking at a separate event, the Rector of Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja, Prof. Salisu Usman, advocated stricter penalties for corruption, including capital punishment for convicted offenders.
Usman made the call during the 37th Inaugural Lecture of the Federal University, Lokoja, where he described corruption as a major setback to Nigeria’s socio-economic growth and global image.
