Fresh courtroom revelations on Monday deepened the prosecution’s case in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) trial of former Kogi State governor Yahaya Bello over an alleged ₦80.2 billion diversion of state funds.
Before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja, several bank compliance officers testified that numerous large cash withdrawals and bank transfers from Kogi State Government accounts flowed to individuals, hotels and corporate accounts during the period under investigation. The testimony came during continued cross‑examination of the fourth prosecution witness and the presentation of documentary evidence by three additional bank officials.
Mashelia Arhyel, a compliance officer at Zenith Bank and the fourth prosecution witness, told the court under cross‑examination by defence counsel J.B. Daudu (SAN) that multiple cash withdrawals — often in multiples of ₦10 million — were made from the Kogi State Government House Administration Account by two named individuals, Abdulsalam Hudu and Comfort Olufunke. Arhyel further testified that payments from the same account were routed to a number of hotels, including Idrinana Hotels, Edge Drive Hotels, JF Hotels, May Treasure Resort, Halims Hotels, Nostalgia Suites and Hope Confluence Hotels.
After the cross‑examination, the prosecution, led by Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), declined to re‑examine Arhyel and the witness was discharged.
The fifth prosecution witness, Jesutoni Akoni, a compliance officer with Ecobank Nigeria Limited, appeared under subpoena and tendered the statement of account for one Moses Wadzu Ileku covering January–December 2016. The document was admitted as Exhibit 29 and, according to the prosecution, showed multiple deposits by Ileku and others — identified in court as Abdulwahab Sabo and Shehu Bello — with amounts ranging from ₦3 million to ₦20 million.
Mohammed Hassan, a relationship officer with Keystone Bank who testified as the sixth prosecution witness, produced the statement of account for Dantata and Sawoe Construction Company, admitted as Exhibit 31. Hassan said the account received transfers totalling ₦100 million between February 17 and February 22, 2021, from individuals identified as Maigari Murtala and Yusuf Mubarak; he told the court he had no personal knowledge of those individuals.
The seventh prosecution witness, Olomotane Egoro of Access Bank, presented 12 sets of subpoenaed documents. Egoro said some account‑opening packages could not be retrieved but that sufficient customer details were extracted from the bank’s database. After both prosecution and defence counsel agreed on the documents’ admissibility, Justice Nwite admitted them into evidence without objection.
With the day’s witnesses heard and documentary exhibits entered, the judge adjourned proceedings to Tuesday, November 11, 2025, for continuation of the trial.
The EFCC is prosecuting Bello for alleged diversion and misappropriation of state funds during his tenure as governor of Kogi State. The trial continues amid focused scrutiny of bank records and payment trails presented by the anti‑graft agency.
