By Ayomide Otitoju
The fourth prosecution witness in the alleged money laundering trial of former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello on Monday reaffirmed that fund withdrawals by the state government did not violate any banking regulations.
During proceedings before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja, Mshelia Arhyel Bata, a compliance officer with a commercial bank, stated that Bello’s name did not appear as a beneficiary in the account presented as evidence.
Under cross-examination by Bello’s lawyer, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Joseph Daudu, Bata confirmed withdrawals made by individuals not mentioned in the prosecution’s case, including Umar Olufunke and Alhassan Omakoji, noting that the transactions adhered to limits set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). She added that she was unaware of any law regulating how Kogi State disburses its funds and could not ascertain the purpose of the state’s transactions beyond the named beneficiaries, which included various hotels.
Following Bata’s testimony, the fifth prosecution witness, Jesutoni Akoni, a Compliance Officer with Ecobank Plc, tendered a subpoena and a statement of account for Moses Ailetu’s companies covering January 1–31, 2016, which was admitted as Exhibit 29. Akoni confirmed cash deposits totaling ₦57 million and stated that Bello was not a beneficiary. He also noted that the source of the funds could not be determined from the documents.
The sixth witness, Mohammed Bello Hassan of Keystone Bank, provided account statements for Dantata and Sawoe, admitted without objection from the defence.
The seventh witness, Olomotame Egoro, a Compliance Officer from Access Bank, presented 12 sets of account documents. While the defence did not oppose the main account statements, Daudu objected to extraneous attachments. The prosecution agreed to remove documents deemed irrelevant.
