‘N80.2bn fraud’: EFCC witness details how N1.096bn was withdrawn from Kogi government account in four days

Mashelia Bata, a witness of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has narrated how N1,096,830,000 was withdrawn from the Kogi state government house administration account within four days. 

Testifying as the fourth prosecution witness at the resumed trial of Yahaya Bello, former governor of Kogi, on Thursday, Bata gave details of some transactions made from the state government house administration account between 2016 and 2023.

Bello is facing a 19-count charge of alleged money laundering amounting to N80 billion.

Led in evidence by Kemi Pinheiro, prosecuting counsel, the witness, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank, Maitama Branch, confirmed that certificates of identification were attached to the statements of accounts provided by the bank in the seven sets of documents presented, as requested in a subpoena.

The court admitted the statement of account of the Kogi state government house administration and those of six others as exhibits.

The accounts include those belonging to Adamu Jagafa Ishaya, Whales Oil and Gas, Jimeda Properties Nigeria Limited, and Alyeshua Solutions.

Bata explained that before the introduction of the cashless policy, withdrawal limits were set at N500,000 for individuals and N10 million for corporate entities.

He was asked to clarify a transaction dated May 23, 2016, involving one Abdulsalami Hudu.

“It is a cash withdrawal of N10 million in accordance with the then maximum threshold allowed for cheque withdrawal per transaction,” he told the court.

Bata further said between January 30 and February 2, 2018, multiple cash withdrawals totalling N1,096,830,000 were made from the Kogi government house account.

He also read out inflows and outflows between May 2 and May 19, 2018, noting that almost every credit inflow was followed by an immediate debit via cheque.

Pinheiro also tendered account opening documents and the bank statements from 2016 to 2023.

COURT DECLINES EFCC’S PLEA TO CROSS-EXAMINE OWN WITNESS

Earlier, Emeka Nwite, presiding judge, rejected a request by the EFCC to cross-examine one of its own witnesses, Nicholas Ojehomon.

Ojehomon, an internal auditor at the American International School, Abuja (AISA), had testified during the previous hearing that the school did not receive any wire transfers from the Kogi state government or its local councils for the tuition of Bello’s children.

The EFCC sought to cross-examine him, but the judge ruled that such an approach lacked legal backing.

“I must agree with the learned counsel to the defendant that the EFCC can only cross-examine its own witness after it has declared such witness a hostile witness,” the judge said.

“The argument of the learned counsel to the prosecution is misconceived.

“This honourable court is not shutting the prosecution from re-examining the witness but must restrict itself to pages 1, 14 and 15 of Exhibit 19, where issues were addressed by the defence.

“The prosecution is not allowed to re-examine the witness outside the pages prescribed.”