Yahaya Bello: Witness Narrates how Cash was Moved in and out of Kogi LG Statutory Accounts

The trial of former Kogi State governor, Yahaya Adoza Bello, continued on Tuesday, November 11, 2025, before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja, with prosecution witness making lengthy revelations on cash movements in and out of the Statutory Account of Kogi State Local Government Areas.

Bello is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on 19-count charges bordering on money laundering to the tune of N80, 246,470, 088.88 (Eighty Billion, Two Hundred and Forty-six Million, Four Hundred and Seventy Thousand and Eight-nine Naira, Eighty-eight Kobo).

During the day’s proceedings, the Seventh Prosecution Witness, PW7, Olomotane Egoro, a compliance officer with Access Bank, while being led in the continuation of his testimony by prosecution counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, identified several bank documents already tendered and admitted in evidence by the court, including Exhibits 34(1) and 34(2), which he described as the Kogi State Government House Account Administrative Opening Package and the Kogi State Government House Administrative Statement of Account from January 1, 2016, to January 31, 2024, respectively, which he admitted related to the same account.

Pinheiro drew the witness’s attention to transactions dated December 21, 2018, where Egoro confirmed a series of cash withdrawals in favour of Aminu Jimoh Olarenwaju.

“My lord, there was a cash withdrawal of ₦10 million in favour of one Aminu Jimoh Olarenwaju,” he said, adding that there were two additional lodgements of ₦10 million each to the same beneficiary that same day.

Further analysis of the account revealed that on December 24, 2018, five cash payments of ₦10 million each, totalling ₦50 million, were also made to the same beneficiary. The pattern, according to the witness, was consistent across multiple pages of the statement, including transactions recorded on March 8, 2019, when 10 cash withdrawals of ₦10 million each, amounting to ₦100 million, were paid to the same account holder.

The witness also disclosed that on August 1, 2019, the account recorded 30 cash withdrawals of ₦10 million each, totalling ₦300 million, in favour of Abdulsalami Hudu.

He further disclosed that on July 31, 2019, the account received ₦300 million, and by August 1, 2019, the same amount was withdrawn in cash, a pattern he described as “suspicious.”

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The prosecution further presented Exhibit 33(8), being the statement of account of Faza Business Enterprise, covering January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2022, which the witness confirmed as originating from Access Bank.

Reviewing transactions on May 6, 2022, Egoro told the court that the account, which previously had a balance of ₦75,728, received multiple inflows from statutory revenue and VAT accounts of 11 local governments of Kogi State. These included Omala, Yagba West, Idah, Okene, Ijumu, Olamaboro, Ofu, Okehi, and Ogori-Magongo, among others, totalling ₦103,375,059.75 on that single day.

On May 9, 2022, the witness disclosed that two more inflows of ₦7,440,972.06 and ₦7,122,729.92 were received from Ibaji and Dekina Local Government Councils, respectively, bringing the total sum from 13 local governments to approximately ₦117 million.

According to him, the funds were later withdrawn in cash by one Yakubu Adebenege Siyaka through cheque transactions between May 9 and May 26, 2022, leaving a closing balance of about ₦1.4 million.

After listening to the testimony, Justice Nwite adjourned the matter till January 29 and 30, 2026, and February 4 and 5, 2026, for continuation of trial.