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.
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.
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