- Prosecution witness says transactions logged as cash withdrawals were really transfers to other accounts
An investigator with Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission told a court on Tuesday that most of the money paid into the accounts of companies under investigation in the alleged ₦110.4 billion fraud case against former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello came from the state’s local government accounts, in monthly payments.
John Justice, an EFCC operative testifying as the 20th prosecution witness, also said bank CCTV footage showed that large sums recorded as cash withdrawals were never physically taken out of the banks.
Bello is on trial before Justice Maryanne Anineh of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja. He is being prosecuted with Umar Shuaibu Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu on a 16-count charge of criminal breach of trust and money laundering.
Funds traced to local governments
Led in evidence by prosecution counsel Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, Justice said investigators requested records of inflows and outflows involving several companies and analysed the banks’ responses. The analysis identified Keyless Ventures as another beneficiary of proceeds traced to the companies, he said.
Reviewing the statement of account of Forza Business Enterprise, he said most of the credits were funds from Kogi State local government accounts, paid monthly.
“Our analysis reveals that these companies were receiving inflow from Kogi State while transactions were treated as cash withdrawals,” he told the court.
CCTV footage
The EFCC invited officials of Access Bank and Zenith Bank and requested CCTV footage because of the large volumes of cash recorded, Justice said. He said the footage showed the money was not taken out of the banks.
He described the process as one in which a customer fills out a cheque withdrawal and a deposit slip for a different account.
Origins of the probe
Justice said the investigation began with intelligence received by the EFCC’s Procurement Fraud Section about the activities of local governments in Kogi State. The intelligence named several companies, including Hayzma, Bibas Energy, Forza Oil and Gas and Keyless Ventures.
Investigators ran Bank Verification Number searches and wrote to the banks. The court heard that a search relating to Keyless Nature returned the name Abba Adaudu, while earlier searches returned the names Yakubu Siyaka Adebenege and Iyadat Sa’adat.
Asked to examine Exhibits AO, AP, AT and AU, Justice confirmed they were connected to the case. He identified AO as relating to Hayzma Business Enterprise, AP to Forza Business Enterprise and AT to Keyless Nature.
Justice said he has been an EFCC operative for more than nine years and has been trained in asset tracing, anti-money laundering and internet and advance-fee fraud, among other areas. He named four investigators on the team and said a Chairman Monitoring Unit headed by Adamu Tilde was also involved.
Earlier witness discharged
Before Justice testified, defence counsel J.B. Daudu, SAN, for the first and second defendants, and Z.E. Abbas, for the third, finished cross-examining PW19, Jamilu Abdullahi, a Bureau de Change operator. The prosecution did not re-examine him, and he was discharged.
Justice Anineh adjourned the trial to Nov. 24, Dec. 2 and Dec. 8, 2026.
