The trial of the former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Adoza Bello, continued on Friday, January 30, 2026, before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja, with the Seventh Prosecution Witness, PW7, Olomotane Egoro, a compliance officer with Access Bank Plc disclosing that inflows from the state’s local governments were made into multiple private bank accounts in a structured manner that evaded Currency Transaction Report, CTR to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, NFIU.
Bello is being prosecuted before Justice Nwite by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on a 19-count charge, bordering on money laundering to the tune of ₦80,246,470,088.88 (Eighty Billion, Two Hundred and Forty-Six Million, Four Hundred and Seventy Thousand and Eighty-Nine Naira, Eighty-Eight Kobo).
Led in his evidence-in-chief by prosecution counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, the witness identified Exhibit 33(5) and told the court that the account was domiciled at the National Assembly Branch of Access Bank, Abuja. Explaining a transaction dated March 21, 2018, Egoro stated that the entry reflected a loan disbursement to a customer, adding that the statement also showed entries such as principal interest liquidation and final entry liquidation.
The witness further examined transactions between April 1, 2020, and May 21, 2020, and disclosed that on April 1, 2020, there was a transaction of ₦7,250,000 (Seven Million, Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand) by Abigail Grace Amuda at the Lokoja Branch of Access Bank on Murtala Mohammed Way. He confirmed that entries made on April 8, 2020 totalled13 cash deposits, while additional cash deposits made on May 7 and 12, 2020 brought the number of the deposits to 21.
According to the witness, all 21 cash deposits were made at the Lokoja Branch of Access Bank, and each deposit was below ₦10 million. When asked about the significance of the amounts, Egoro explained that ₦10 million is the reporting threshold for corporate accounts, above which banks are required to file a Currency Transaction Report (CTR) with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU). He added that the transactions were structured to evade the reporting threshold.
Although defence counsel, Abdulwahab Mohammed, SAN, objected to the line of questioning, Justice Nwite overruled the objection, noting that the witness was a professional who could shed light on the subject matter.
The witness identified Exhibit 33(10) as the statement of account of Keyless Nature Limited, an Access Bank customer with account number 1496568739, domiciled in the Lokoja Branch. He told the court that between September 30, 2021, and February 23, 2024, the account recorded multiple credit inflows of various sums from different local government areas of Kogi State.
He further testified that immediately after the inflows from the local governments, there were outflows in the form of transfers to another Keyless Nature Limited account outside Access Bank. He cited transactions dated March 3, April 4, May 5, June 3 and July 5, 2022, all of which, he said, showed transfers from Keyless Nature Limited to Keyless Nature Limited at Fidelity Bank, occurring on the heels of inflows from the state’s local governments.
The witness identified Exhibit 33(4) as the statement of account of Hayzma Business Enterprise, with account number 1392197091, domiciled in the Lokoja Branch of Access Bank. He told the court that deposits from the local governments into the account on August 28, 2020 totalled 14. Outflows, he said, showed multiple cash withdrawals by one Yakubu Siyaka.
He further told the court that in August 2020 alone, Hayzma Business Enterprise received ₦813,777,893.40 (Eight Hundred and Thirteen Million, Seven Hundred and Seventy-seven Thousand, Eight Hundred and Ninety-three Naira, Forty Kobo) from several local governments of Kogi State, and that between August 20 and September 9, 2020, ₦546,628,000 (Five Hundred and Forty-six Million, Six Hundred and Twenty-eight Thousand) was withdrawn in cash by Yakubu Siyaka within 12 days, all from the Lokoja Branch of Access Bank.
The witness identified Exhibit 33(11) as another Keyless Nature Limited account with account number 1456400204, domiciled at the Lokoja Branch. He explained that a transaction, dated December 14, 2021, described as “principal disbursement,” was a loan disbursement of ₦2.1 billion from Access Bank to Keyless Nature Limited. He added that on December 15 and 17, 2021, there were withdrawals totalling ₦1,259,473,000 (One Billion, Two Hundred and Fifty-nine Million, Four Hundred and Seventy-three Thousand) while entries on December 24 and 30, 2021, showed multiple credit inflows from various local governments of the state. According to him, such inflows continued into the account up to February 6, 2024.
At the close of proceedings, the defence counsel informed the court that his team was not through with reviewing the documents tendered by the witness and requested more time ahead of cross-examination. To which the prosecution counsel argued that the documents had been with the defence for over a year, adding that they had even obtained Certified True Copies, CTCs.
Justice Nwite adjourned the matter till February 4 and 5, 2026, for cross-examination of PW7 and continuation of hearing.
