An EFCC witness, Mshelia Arhyel Bata, on Monday, reaffirmed in the alleged money laundering trial of former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello that withdrawals from state government accounts did not violate any banking law.
Bata, a compliance officer, made the declaration while being cross-examined by Bello’s counsel, Joseph Daudu, SAN, before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja. He also confirmed that Bello’s name did not appear as a beneficiary in the account statements presented as evidence.
The witness, the fourth prosecution witness (PW-4), testified that withdrawals made by other individuals, including Umar Comfort Olufunke and Alhassan Omakoji, complied with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) N10 million cash withdrawal limit. Bata said he was unaware of any law regulating how the Kogi State Government spends its funds.
Under cross-examination, Bata admitted that Olufunke’s withdrawals, ranging from December 2017 to April 2018, were directed to various hotels in Kogi. Omakoji’s withdrawals, between November 2021 and December 2022, also did not exceed N10 million per transaction.
When questioned about Bello’s involvement, Bata said, “The name, Yahaya Bello, does not appear as beneficiary.” He further stated that aside from listed beneficiaries, there was no way to determine the purpose of the state’s transactions.
The witness was discharged after the prosecution confirmed there would be no re-examination. At a previous hearing, Bata had also confirmed that Bello was neither a signatory to nor connected with any accounts presented as evidence.
Following PW-4, the EFCC called PW-5, Akoni, a compliance officer, who tendered account statements for Moses Ailetu’s companies, showing cash deposits totaling N57 million between N3 million and N20 million. Akoni confirmed Bello was not a beneficiary of these deposits.
The prosecution also introduced PW-6, Hassan, a relationship officer, and PW-7, Egoro, a compliance officer, who presented account statements of Dantata and Sawoe Construction Company and other documents. While the defense did not object to the primary account statements, they challenged extraneous documents attached, which the prosecution later removed.
Justice Nwite adjourned the trial to November 11, 2025, for continuation.