Yahaya Bello’s N110.4bn Trial: EFCC Traces Kogi LG Funds To Company Linked To Adaudu
Yahaya Bello’s N110.4bn Trial: EFCC Traces Kogi LG Funds To Company Linked To Adaudu
Bello and two other defendants are facing a 16-count charge bordering on alleged criminal breach of trust and money laundering involving N110.4 billion.
An operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), John Justice, has told the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, how investigators traced funds originating from local government areas in Kogi State through three companies to Keyless Nature Limited, which he said was linked to Abba Adaudu.
Justice, the 20th prosecution witness (PW20) in the ongoing trial of former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, also told Justice M. E. Anenih that CCTV footage obtained from banks during the investigation reportedly showed that customers were not physically taking cash out of the banks despite transactions being recorded as cash withdrawals.
Bello and two other defendants are facing a 16-count charge bordering on alleged criminal breach of trust and money laundering involving N110.4 billion.
The prosecution is being led by Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, while J. B. Daudu, SAN, represents Bello and the second defendant, Umar Shuaibu Oricha. Counsel to the third defendant, Abdulsalami Hudu, was also present in court.
Testifying, Justice said he had served with the EFCC for approximately nine years and participated in the investigation as a member of its Procurement Fraud Section.
He told the court that he underwent 14 months of training at the Nigerian Defence Academy and the EFCC Academy, covering areas including asset tracing, procurement, money laundering and advance-fee fraud.
The witness identified members of his initial investigative team as Emeka Okonjo, Adamu Maa, Hamza Lawal and Dauda Usman.
He said the team was later merged with the Chairman Monitoring Unit, a committee headed by Adamu Tilde, with Audu Abubakar and Yazid Bawa also joining the investigation.
According to Justice, the investigation began after the EFCC received intelligence concerning financial activities involving local government areas in Kogi State.
He said the intelligence mentioned three companies: Hayza Business Enterprise, Vifaz Business Enterprise and Fazab Business Enterprise.
Subsequent Bank Verification Number (BVN) searches, he told the court, identified Yakubu Adebenege Isia and Iyadi Sadat as individuals associated with the companies.
Justice explained that Keyless Nature Limited was not initially part of the investigation but attracted the investigators’ attention after they obtained transaction records from banks, including Access Bank and Zenith Bank.
He said an instrument examined during the investigation revealed that Keyless Nature Limited had received transfers from the three companies.
The witness identified Exhibits AT and AU as the statements of account of Keyless Nature Limited, Exhibit AP as the statement of account of Fazab Business Enterprise, and Exhibit AO as the statement of account of Hayma Business Enterprise.
According to him, an analysis of the account statements showed that most of the inflows into the companies originated from local government areas in Kogi State.
He further testified that a BVN search conducted on Keyless Nature Limited returned the name Abba Adaudu.
Justice said investigators subsequently examined transactions in which funds received by the companies were recorded as cash withdrawals.
He told the court that the volume of the transactions prompted the investigative team to request CCTV footage from the banks to establish how the withdrawals were conducted.
According to the witness, the footage reportedly showed that customers were not physically taking the cash out of the banks.
He said further investigation revealed that the transactions were processed through what he described as “in-and-out” transactions.
Under the arrangement, he explained, a customer presented a withdrawal cheque alongside a deposit slip bearing a different account number.
Witness Denies Dealings With Bello’s Co-Defendant
Earlier in the proceedings, during the cross-examination of another prosecution witness, Daudu tendered four documents, including certified records of proceedings in two separate criminal cases and an extra-judicial statement made to the EFCC by Jamilu Abdullahi on May 10, 2022.
Pinheiro indicated that the prosecution had no objection to their admission.
Justice Anenih subsequently admitted the documents in evidence and marked them as Exhibits AZ(1), AZ(2), AZ(3) and AZ(4).
The witness identified Exhibit AZ(3) as the statement he made to the EFCC in 2022 and Exhibit AZ(2) as the record of proceedings in which he had previously been cross-examined by defence counsel.
He confirmed that he instructed Aleshua Solutions Limited, Forza Oil and Gas, and Whales Oil and Gas to transfer funds and facilitate the payment of school fees to the American International School.
The witness maintained that he dealt exclusively with Adaudu and had no dealings with any of Adaudu’s friends.
When confronted with his testimony in previous proceedings, in which he had mentioned a friend of Adaudu, he explained that he had stated that the driver remained in the car while Adaudu went upstairs to his office.
Justice reiterated that he had no dealings or transactions with anyone other than Adaudu.
He also told the court that he had never met the third defendant, Hudu, and had no transactions with him.
There was no re-examination, and the witness was discharged. Pinheiro subsequently applied for the next prosecution witness to be called.
Court Adjourns Trial
At the beginning of the proceedings, Justice Anenih informed counsel that the court could sit for only one hour because it was scheduled to rise by 12:30 p.m. for an official assignment and had other matters on its cause list.
Pinheiro requested an extension, explaining that he had arrived from London that morning and that sitting for only an hour before adjourning the case would be unproductive.
The court, however, maintained its position.
Daudu assured the court that his cross-examination would be brief because he was already familiar with the witness.
The testimony of PW20 was subsequently suspended after the court observed that the allotted time had elapsed.
The court adjourned the case to November 24, December 2 and December 8, 2026, for continuation of the trial.
