Court Adjourns Yahaya Bello’s Trial

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday adjourned the alleged money laundering trial of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, until May 6 for continuation of the hearing.

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Naija News reports that Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned the matter to allow defence counsel, Joseph Daudu (SAN), to continue cross-examining the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)’s 12th prosecution witness, Abdullahi Jamilu.

During proceedings, the witness told the court he made only one statement to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on May 10, 2022.

Under cross-examination, he admitted that certain transactions and company names were not included in Exhibit 46, which contained his initial statement.

He also confirmed that he was not the author of Exhibit 13 presented in court. Earlier, the court dismissed an objection by the defence against the prosecution’s attempt to re-present Exhibit 46.

Justice Nwite ruled that the objection was speculative and misconceived.

The witness recalled giving similar testimony in a related case before another judge of the Federal High Court.

He confirmed that the defendants in that matter included Ali Bello, Abah Adaudu, Yakuba Siyaka Adabenege, and Iyadi Sadat.

Jamilu, a Bureau De Change operator, told the court that he relied on colleagues to facilitate dollar transactions when his accounts could not handle them directly.

He said the payments were made to the American International School Abuja on the instructions of Abah Adaudu.

He added that after completing the transfers, he forwarded the receipts to Adaudu.

During the hearing, the defence tendered additional documents, which were admitted as Exhibit 47 without objection.

The witness acknowledged that the transactions referenced in the exhibits were consistent with those he had earlier testified about.

The witness, however, pointed out discrepancies in some documents. He said, “I just noticed that P13 and P14 are not part of the documents I tendered as part of the payment I made for the school fees.”

Following the proceedings, Justice Nwite adjourned the case to May 6 and May 7 for continuation of cross-examination.

The trial continues as the court hears further evidence in the high-profile money laundering case involving the former governor.