The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court has adjourned the trial of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, to November 12, 2025, following the examination of the sixth prosecution witness by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Justice Maryann Anenih presided over Thursday’s session in Abuja, where Bello and his co-defendants face 16 counts bordering on alleged fraud and diversion of over ₦110 billion belonging to Kogi State.
During the resumed proceedings, the EFCC presented its fifth witness, Victoria Oluwafemi, a compliance officer at Polaris Bank. She told the court that the account under investigation received several inflows from different sources, with multiple transactions in tranches of ₦10 million, amounting to ₦450 million in November 2021.
Under cross-examination by Bello’s counsel, Joseph Daudu (SAN), Oluwafemi admitted she was neither the account officer nor the relationship manager of the accounts and therefore could not explain how the transactions were initiated. Counsel for the second defendant, A.M. Aliyu, also confirmed through her testimony that the second defendant’s name, Abdulsalam Hudu, was not mentioned in the documents tendered as evidence.
The prosecution then called its sixth witness, Mshelia Arhyel, who was cross-examined on account statements and transactions related to companies linked to the defendants. Defence lawyers objected to the admissibility of certain documents, arguing they did not comply with Sections 83 and 84 of the Evidence Act.
However, the prosecution, led by Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), urged the court to admit the documents, describing them as vital to its case. Justice Anenih admitted the 218-page statement of account belonging to Alusha Services as Exhibit P1.
Arhyel, while testifying, confirmed that several withdrawals were made within the ₦10 million approval threshold before 2023, and that some transfers originated from the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service, totalling ₦202 million.
As the court session drew to a close at 3 p.m., Justice Anenih adjourned the matter to November 12 and 13, 2025, for the continuation of the examination of the sixth witness.
