Federal High Court Adjourns Yahaya Bello’s Money Laundering Trial To January 2026
The Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned the ongoing money laundering trial of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, to January 29, 2026, for continuation of hearing.
Justice Emeka Nwite fixed the new date after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) seventh prosecution witness, Olomotame Egoro, could not complete his testimony on Tuesday. Egoro, a compliance officer with Access Bank Plc, was being led in evidence by EFCC’s counsel, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN).
During the proceedings, Pinheiro sought to tender several documents marked as Exhibits 33 (1–11) and 34. However, Bello’s lead counsel, Abdullahi Yahaya (SAN), objected, arguing that the documents had not been disclosed to the defence team and that the certificate of identification attached was signed by one Faruk Idiaro, not the witness in court. Yahaya further claimed that the documents were different from those listed in the proof of evidence served on the defence.
In response, Pinheiro maintained that the certificate’s signatory was not material to the authenticity of the documents and urged the court to stand down the matter briefly so both sides could cross-check the records. The court granted the request and directed both parties to reconcile the discrepancies before resuming.
When the trial resumed, Egoro continued his testimony, explaining the contents of the Kogi State Government House Administration’s bank statement covering December 2018 to August 2021. He identified cash withdrawals and deposits, including ₦50 million paid to one Aminu J.O. in ₦10 million tranches on December 21, 2018, and multiple withdrawals in favour of Abdulsalam Hudu on August 1, 2019.
The witness also reviewed Exhibit 33-8, a statement of Fazac Business Enterprise’s account from January 2019 to December 2022, confirming several inflows from local government accounts across the state. The transactions included deposits ranging between ₦4.49 million and ₦14.45 million on May 6, 2022, and two additional inflows of ₦7.12 million and ₦9.4 million on May 9, 2022.
Following hours of testimony, Justice Nwite adjourned the matter to January 29 and 30, and February 4 and 5, 2026, for continuation of trial.
It would be recalled that at the previous sitting, the EFCC’s fourth prosecution witness, Mshelia Arhyel Bata, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank, testified that the Kogi State Government’s withdrawals did not violate any banking laws. Bata also confirmed that Yahaya Bello’s name did not appear as a beneficiary in the accounts linked to the transactions presented by the anti-graft agency.
