EFCC witness clears kogi govt, says no law broken in state fund withdrawals

A witness for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has told a Federal High Court in Abuja that withdrawals made by the Kogi State Government did not breach any banking law.

Testifying on Monday in the alleged money laundering trial of former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, Mshelia Arhyel Bata, a compliance officer with one of the commercial banks, confirmed that Bello’s name did not appear as a beneficiary in the accounts under investigation.

During cross-examination by defence counsel Joseph Daudu, SAN, the witness acknowledged that several withdrawals were made by officials of the Kogi State Government House, including Abdulsalam Hudu and Alhassan Omakoji, between 2017 and 2022 — all within the withdrawal limits set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

He further told the court that he was unaware of any law regulating how the Kogi State Government spends its allocations and that the bank could not determine the purpose of the transactions made to beneficiaries such as hotels.

After his testimony, the prosecution, led by Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, called additional witnesses from Ecobank, Keystone Bank, and Access Bank, who produced various statements of account and supporting documents.

One of the witnesses, Jesutoni Akoni of Ecobank, confirmed that deposits ranging between ₦3 million and ₦20 million — totalling ₦57 million — were made by a company linked to the investigation, but none of the records listed Bello as a beneficiary.

Another witness from Access Bank, Olomotame Egoro, presented 12 sets of customer documents, though the defence objected to some attachments described as “extraneous.”

Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned the trial to November 11, 2025, for continuation.