A prosecution witness for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) told the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court on Wednesday that funds traced from several local government accounts in Kogi State were used for procurement of supplies and services for the benefiting councils and that no evidence showed former Governor Yahaya Bello authorised those payments, the court heard.
The witness, Mr Olomotane Egoro, a compliance officer with Access Bank Plc, testified in the ongoing trial of Yahaya Bello on a 16-count money laundering charge filed by the EFCC. He was described in court as Prosecution Witness 10 (PW10).
Egoro said that over ₦109 million traced to various local government accounts was applied to the purchase of agrochemicals, medical consumables, sports materials and relief supplies for the councils identified in the transactions.
He told the court the payments were linked to procurement of goods and services, and he outlined inflows into and outflows from the Kogi State Government House Administration account.
At the start of proceedings, the witness tendered 13 exhibits, including account opening documents and bank statements relating to the Kogi State Government House Administration and contractors linked to the transactions.
Defence counsel objected to the admissibility of those documents on grounds related to compliance with the Evidence Act, and the court admitted the documents provisionally, pending further argument in written submissions.
Under cross-examination by Paul Daudu, SAN, counsel for the second and third defendants, Egoro identified that Fazab Business Enterprise had contractual relationships with several local government councils and confirmed that specific payments were made for stated purposes.
These included a ₦14,453,900.84 payment on May 6, 2022, for supply of reading materials to Okene Local Government Area. He also identified other transactions with described purposes.
Egoro confirmed that he was not the account relationship manager for either the local government accounts or the accounts of the contractors involved.
He also confirmed that Bello did not serve as chairman of any local government during the period covered by the bank records, and throughout his testimony he did not link any of the transactions to Bello as a beneficiary or as a signatory authorising the payments.
Transactions involving Westwood Motors Limited were also discussed, with Egoro identifying cash deposits into the company’s account by local governments described in the records as loan repayments.
He did not provide evidence connecting Bello to those transactions. The case was adjourned to March 10, 11 and 12 for continuation of the trial, the court heard.
