EFCC Witness Tells Court Yahaya Bello Not Linked to Alleged N80bn Fraud Transactions

A witness in the ongoing alleged N80 billion money laundering trial involving former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, has told a Federal High Court in Abuja that the ex-governor was not directly linked to the transactions being investigated.

The witness, Mahmoud Abdulazeez, a staff member of Dantata and Sawoe Construction Company Limited, gave the testimony on Monday while appearing as the 10th prosecution witness before Justice Emeka Nwite.

During cross-examination by defence counsel, Joseph Daudu, SAN, Abdulazeez stated that Bello neither participated in nor was involved in the property transaction related to documents presented in court.

Earlier in the proceedings, the court admitted two disputed documents tendered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as evidence. The documents — an Irrevocable Power of Attorney and a Deed of Assignment — were marked as Exhibits 42 and 43.

The witness explained that the documents were executed between Dantata and Sawoe Construction Company Limited and Azab Real Estate Limited. He added that the company authorised Azab Real Estate to carry out the transaction on its behalf.

Abdulazeez also told the court that he never saw Yahaya Bello at the company’s office during the transaction process and confirmed that Bello was not involved in preparing or signing the documents.

While reviewing the documents, the witness acknowledged that the Deed of Assignment did not indicate the value of the property involved. He further stated that in his more than 25 years as an accountant, he had never encountered a property transaction document that omitted the property value.

In a separate ruling, Justice Nwite held that the documents were admissible in evidence despite objections from the defence. The judge explained that the prosecution presented them to establish that a transaction occurred, not to prove ownership of the property.

The prosecution later called its 11th witness, legal practitioner James Igbakule, who testified about a property located at Plot 1058, Cadastral Zone A08, Wuse 2 District, Abuja.

Igbakule said payment for the property was made in three instalments and that he became involved after one Shehu Bello contacted him when his client, SFC Foods Limited, indicated interest in selling the property.

He added that he was later invited by the EFCC for questioning after his name appeared during the investigation. Under cross-examination, the lawyer told the court that he was seeing Yahaya Bello for the first time in court and had never conducted any business with him.

Another witness, Jemilu Abdullahi, a Bureau de Change operator, also testified that he carried out financial transactions for companies including Keyless Nature Limited and Ejadams Essence Limited. He confirmed handling several cash transactions, mostly in sums of ₦10 million, allegedly conducted by one Abba Adaudu.

Meanwhile, the defence informed the court that it had filed an application seeking the removal of a red alert earlier issued against Bello. The defence argued that allowing him to travel without lifting the alert would be contradictory.

However, prosecution counsel Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, maintained that the court had already granted Bello permission to travel abroad for 10 days beginning March 13 during the Ramadan period.

Justice Nwite said he would review the arguments before delivering a ruling on the application.

The case was adjourned to April 22, 23 and 24, and May 6 and 7 for continuation of the trial.