A prosecution witness in the ongoing money laundering trial of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, before the Federal High Court in Abuja, has testified that the withdrawals made by the state government from its accounts did not violate any known law.
The witness, Mshelia Arhyel Bata, a Compliance Officer with Zenith Bank, further told the court that Bello’s name did not appear as a beneficiary in the account statements presented as evidence.
The former governor is facing a 19-count charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged money laundering, breach of trust, and misappropriation of public funds amounting to ₦80.2 billion.
Bata, who featured as the fourth prosecution witness, made the claims while being cross examined by Bello’s lawyer, Joseph Daudu (SAN).
Daudu drew Bata’s attention to some transactions (mainly withdrawals) by one Umar Comfort Olufunkebin the account statement tendered by the prosecution
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The witness said the withdrawals, which were in multiples of N10million, were made between December 2017 and April 2018, with beneficiaries being some hotels in Kogi State.
Bata added there were withdrawals by one Alhassan Omakoji between November 2021 and December 2022, which did not exceed N10million per transaction.
He said the withdrawals conformed with the withdrawal limits set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The witness said he was not aware of any law that regulates how Kogi State Government spends its money or allocation.
Bata added that beside from the beneficiaries of the funds like the hotels, it was impossible for him to know what the state’s withdrawals were meant for.
The fifth prosecution witness, Jesutoni Akoni, a Compliance Officer with Ecobank Plc, was led in evidence by Chukwudi Enebeli, (SAN), for the prosecution.
The prosecution tendered, through the witness, some documents including a statement of account.
From the statement of account, Akoni confirmed cash deposits which were between N3 million and N20 million, and totalling N57 million.
During cross-examination, Akoni testified that the defendant was not the beneficiary of the deposits in question.
He further explained that it was impossible to determine the actual source of the funds from the face of the documents presented.
The prosecution also called its sixth witness, Mohammed Bello Hassan, a Relationship Officer with Keystone Bank, through whom the account statements of Dantata and Sawoe were tendered in evidence.
Its seventh witness, Olomotame Egoro, a Compliance Officer with Access Bank who was subpoenaed, also presented additional documents, including bank records.
The trial is scheduled to continue on Tuesday before Justice Emeka Nwite.
