Alleged ₦80.2bn Fraud: Court Adjourns Yahaya Bello’s Trial Till Nov 11

Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, sitting in Maitama, Abuja, on Monday, November 10, 2025, adjourned the trial of former Kogi State governor, Yahaya Adoza Bello, till Tuesday, November 11, 2025, for continuation of trial.

Bello is being prosecuted by the EFCC before Justice Nwite for alleged diversion and misappropriation of Kogi State funds to the tune of ₦80.2 billion while serving as governor.

The adjournment followed a long day of proceedings that featured the continuation of the cross-examination of the fourth prosecution witness, PW4, Mashelia Arhyel and the testimonies of three other witnesses from Zenith Bank, Ecobank, Keystone Bank and Access Bank.

The defence counsel, J.B. Daudu, SAN, continued the cross-examination of Arhyel, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank, who earlier testified as the fourth prosecution witness.

Arhyel confirmed that several cash withdrawals were made from the Kogi State Government House Administration Account by Abdulsalam Hudu and Comfort Olufunke in multiples of ₦10 million.

ADVERTISEMENT

He further testified that several hotels, including Idrinana Hotels, Edge Drive Hotels, JF Hotels, May Treasure Resort, Halims Hotels, Nostalgia Suites, and Hope Confluence Hotels, were beneficiaries of various transactions from the account.

After the cross-examination, prosecution counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, declined re-examination, and the witness was discharged.

The prosecution thereafter called Jesutoni Akoni, a compliance officer with Ecobank Nigeria Limited, as PW5. Akoni, who appeared under subpoena, produced and tendered the statement of account of one Moses Wadzu Ileku, covering January to December 2016, which was admitted in evidence as Exhibit 29.

She identified several deposits made by Ileku, Abdulwahab Sabo, and Shehu Bello, among others, which ranged from ₦3 million to ₦20 million.

The Sixth Prosecution Witness, PW6, Mohammed Bello Hassan, a relationship officer with Keystone Bank, also appeared under subpoena. He produced the statement of account of Dantata and Sawoe Construction Company, which was admitted as Exhibit 31.

He testified that between February 17 and February 22, 2021, a total of ₦100 million was transferred into the account by Maigari Murtala and Yusuf Mubarak. He disclosed under cross-examination that he did not know Murtala and Mubarak.

The day’s proceedings ended with the testimony of Olomotane Egoro, a compliance officer with Access Bank, who appeared as PW7. He produced 12 sets of documents in compliance with a subpoena issued to the bank.

He informed the court that while some account opening packages could not be retrieved, the bank provided sufficient customer details extracted from its database. After clarification between the prosecution and defence, the documents were admitted in evidence without objection.

Justice Nwite adjourned the matter till Tuesday, November 11, 2025, for continuation of trial.