A Federal High Court in Abuja was told on Thursday that former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, had no involvement in the operation of the Kogi Government House bank account at the United Bank for Africa (UBA).
Testifying as the second prosecution witness in the alleged N80.2 billion money laundering trial, UBA Compliance Officer, Mrs. Abimbola Williams, confirmed that Bello’s name did not appear in any withdrawals made from the account (No. 1003889575) while he was in office.
During cross-examination by Bello’s lawyer, Joseph Daudu (SAN), Williams stated that the former governor’s name was absent from the account’s opening documents, transaction records, and statement of account—documents that were presented in court.
She identified three signatories to the account, including Alhaji Yakubu Ismail, a Permanent Secretary, but maintained that Bello was not among them.
Williams further clarified that she was not the accounts officer managing the Kogi Government House account, which is domiciled in Lokoja, not Abuja, where she works.
Earlier, while being led in evidence by the prosecuting lawyer, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), Williams outlined multiple cheque withdrawals from the account. She noted that on December 12, 2018, ten separate transactions of N10 million each were made, all in favor of one Abdulsalami Hudu, who allegedly handled fund withdrawals on behalf of the Kogi Government House. Another beneficiary frequently listed in the transactions was Aminu J. O.
Williams explained that the funds were withdrawn in tranches, either in cash or deposited into beneficiary accounts. However, she admitted that the bank statements did not specify whether the withdrawals were exclusively cash transactions.
In a related testimony, the third prosecution witness, Nicholas Ohehomon, an Internal Auditor at the American International School, disclosed that Bello had an agreement with the school to prepay the tuition fees of his five children for their entire duration at the institution.
Ohehomon revealed that the arrangement extended to the payment of fees for “future children.”
Furthermore, the prosecution tendered documents related to Bello’s children’s admission, including contracts, payment receipts, and the school’s statements of account, detailing the classes they were admitted into.
The trial is set to continue on Friday.
