The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Thursday submitted additional bank documents in the trial of Yahaya Bello, former governor of Kogi State, at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Bello is being prosecuted alongside Umar Shuaibu Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu on a 16-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust and money laundering involving about ₦110.4 billion.
At the resumed hearing before Maryanne Anineh, presiding judge, the prosecution, led by Kemi Pinheiro, senior advocate of Nigeria, presented prosecution witness six, Mashelia Arhyel Bata, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank, for further cross-examination.
Joseph Daudu, counsel to the first and second defendants, questioned NAIJAONPOINT on exhibit S1, a statement of account earlier tendered by the prosecution.
Daudu asked Bata to clarify his testimony that the statement of account comprised eight columns, particularly the meaning of the “description” column.
Bata told the court that the column represented transaction narrations reflected in the account records.
He drew attention to an entry dated January 20, 2016, which read: “Cq 158 Abdulsalami Hudu for N10,000,000.”
NAIJAONPOINT also highlighted another transaction entry which stated: “ZB chq 155 paid Halims Hotels and Tours, Lokoja, N2,454,400.”
When asked whether he knew the purpose of the N10 million paid to Abdulsalami Hudu or the amount paid to Halims Hotels and Tours, Bata said he could not determine how the funds were utilised or their intended purpose.
Daudu further referred NAIJAONPOINT to exhibit X1 and requested its identification.
Bata said exhibit X1 was the account-opening package of a company with account number 1014878995 domiciled at Zenith Bank’s Lokoja branch.
The defence counsel then questioned NAIJAONPOINT on the number of transactions within specific dates on the statement.
While Daudu suggested there were 21 transactions between March 10 and March 12, 2016, Bata said the entries he reviewed commenced from November 14, 2016.
Directing NAIJAONPOINT to December 6, 2016 entries, Daudu asked him to read them to the court.
Bata said the first entry showed a transfer from the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service in the sum of ₦74,378,483.20, while another entry on the same date reflected a cheque payment of ₦10 million to Mohammed Jami’u Sallau.
Asked whether the statement disclosed the purpose of the payments, NAIJAONPOINT said the narration did not indicate the reason for the transaction, adding that the same applied to another ₦10 million credit in favour of Sallau.
Z.B. Abbas, counsel to Abdulsalami Hudu, also cross-examined NAIJAONPOINT and asked whether all withdrawals made by the third defendant were by cheque.
Bata replied in the affirmative, adding that all the cheques were duly signed by authorised signatories.
NAIJAONPOINT further confirmed under questioning that exhibit X1 was the statement of account of the government house account.
On exhibit X2, Bata told the court that the third defendant was introduced to the bank as a civil servant and an accountant.
Maryanne Anineh adjourned the matter to January 16 for the continuation of the trial.