The Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja, has adjourned the trial of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, over an alleged ₦110.4 billion fraud until 2026.
Bello is standing trial alongside Umar Shuaibu Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu on a 16-count charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), relating to criminal breach of trust and money laundering.
The proceedings resumed on Wednesday, November 13, 2025, before Justice Maryanne Anineh, with the court continuing the cross-examination of the sixth prosecution witness, Mashelia Arhyel Bata, a compliance officer at Zenith Bank.
During the cross-examination, Bello’s counsel, Yahaya Abdullahi (SAN), requested Exhibit S1, which is the statement of account of the Kogi State Government House; the witness confirmed its authenticity.
Abdullahi also established that every account has a relationship officer, to which the witness agreed before lead defence counsel, J.B. Daudu (SAN), took over questioning.
Referring to Exhibit S2, Daudu asked the witness about the mandate to the signatories of the account. Bata confirmed the account was opened in 2005, listing the initial signatories as Chris Onyepola, Onyechukwu Daniel L., and Abdulsalami Hudu.
He added that new signatories, including Oricha Umar Shuaibu (2016), Ahmed Idris (2018), and Alhassan Omakoji (2019), were later introduced.
When questioned about withdrawal limits, Bata told the court that at the time, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) permitted a ₦10 million limit for corporate bodies and ₦500,000 for individuals. He affirmed that only signatories and recognized representatives were authorized to withdraw funds.
The witness further confirmed that consistent withdrawals from the account were made by authorized signatories. When asked to identify a series of ₦10 million withdrawals made on December 15, 2017, Bata named Umar Comfort Olufunke as the beneficiary, citing 19 separate withdrawals totaling ₦119 million.
However, when Daudu sought clarification on slight name variations in the records, prosecution counsel Kemi Pinheiro (SAN) objected, describing the question as speculative. Justice Anineh upheld the objection, ruling that the witness could not speculate beyond the contents of the document.
Bata clarified that his testimony was based strictly on official bank records and that only an introduction letter could confirm whether the varying names belonged to the same individual.
After the exchanges, Justice Anineh adjourned the matter to January 15 and 16, and February 10, 11, and March 11 & 12, 2026 for continuation of trial.
