Proceedings in the alleged money laundering case against the former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, continued on Thursday before Justice Maryann Anenih of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) presenting its fifth and sixth witnesses.
The hearing has been postponed until November 12 and 13, 2025, to allow for the completion of the sixth witness’s testimony.
The prosecution began by calling its fifth witness (PW5), Victoria Oluwafemi, a compliance officer representing Polaris Bank.
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She provided evidence detailing the total funds deposited into a specific bank account from various sources, noting that withdrawals from this account frequently occurred in increments of ₦10 million.
The witness testified that the total deposits in November 2021 amounted to ₦450 million.
During cross-examination by Joseph Daudu, counsel for the first defendant (Bello), the witness acknowledged that she was not the direct account officer or relationship manager for the accounts in question.
Consequently, she conceded that she lacked personal knowledge of how the specific transactions were executed.
Counsel for the second defendant, A.M. Aliyu, confirmed through his cross-examination that the name of his client, Abdulsalam Hudu, did not appear on a document presented as exhibit M.
The sixth prosecution witness (PW6), Mshelia Arhyel, then took the stand for cross-examination.
Daudu requested a delay in his cross-examination, citing an ongoing cross-examination of the same witness in a separate, similar case before another court.
Justice Anenih, however, maintained that the current matter was independent and that the defence was free to proceed or waive its opportunity for cross-examination.
During the testimony of PW6, the prosecution moved to submit several documents through the subpoenaed witness.
Defence counsel for both the first and second defendants objected to the evidence, arguing that the documents did not satisfy the requirements of Sections 83 and 84 of the Evidence Act.
The prosecuting counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, urged the court to disregard the defence’s objections and accept the documents into evidence.
The court ultimately admitted the document, a 218-page bank statement belonging to Alusha Services, which was signed by the witness, and marked it as exhibit P1.
The prosecution’s questioning of PW6 mirrored earlier testimony given before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court on June 26, 2025.
The witness reiterated that before 2023, there was no strict limit on withdrawals, provided the cheque amount did not surpass ₦10 million.
The witness reviewed transactions between February 22 and March 3, 2016, up to May 6, 2022, confirming that while there were multiple ₦10 million transactions, they remained within the approved limits.
He stated that the total value of transactions as of January 31, 2018, was ₦707,267,000.
Regarding the account statement for Aleshua Solutions Services from May 6, 2022, the witness detailed three transactions: a $2,500 transfer to Aleshua Solutions Services from B.O. Rosemary Chukwuma, and two separate cash transfers of $5,000 each to an individual named Yau.
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PW6 also confirmed various transactions in December 2016 originating from the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service, which totalled ₦202 million.
The judge concluded the session at the predetermined time of 3:00 pm and adjourned the case for the continuation of the sixth witness’s cross-examination.
