By Ayomide Otitoju
Former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, allegedly paid a total of $1.6 million in tuition fees for his children at the American International School in Abuja, including an advance payment of $845,852 for future enrollments, a witness testified in court.
At the current exchange rate, this amounts to approximately ₦2.4 billion.
The school’s auditor, Nicholas Ojehomon, who testified before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja, stated that the payments were made in two tranches. One part covered tuition for the former governor’s children, while another was a prepayment arrangement covering their education until graduation.
Bello is currently facing an ₦80.2 billion fraud charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), with this testimony forming part of the evidence against him.
According to Ojehomon, the transactions were facilitated by Bello’s brother, Ali Bello, and covered tuition fees for four of Bello’s children enrolled in Grades 8, 6, 4, and 2.
Diaspora Digital Media gathered that the tuition fees per child included:
$90,074 for a Grade 8 student
$87,470 for a Grade 6 student
$26,241 for a Grade 4 student
$18,707 for a Grade 2 student
The witness also presented a contractual agreement between the school and Ali Bello, detailing the prepayment arrangement.
EFCC counsel, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), submitted the school’s admission records and prepaid tuition fee documents as evidence. When questioned about refunds, Ojehomon confirmed that $760,910.84 had been refunded to the EFCC into a Central Bank of Nigeria account.
The anti-graft agency alleged that the tuition payments were linked to money laundering, arguing that the funds constituted proceeds of crime and that the school had unknowingly been used as a money-laundering channel.
During the trial, a second prosecution witness, Williams, a compliance officer from United Bank for Africa (UBA), presented additional financial documents, including statements from accounts linked to Bello’s administration. She testified that multiple withdrawals were made from the Kogi State Government House account, with significant transactions involving individuals named Abdulsalam Hudu and Aminu J.O.
However, under cross-examination, Williams admitted that Bello’s name did not appear in any of the financial transactions from the government house account.
“The name Yahaya Bello does not feature in Exhibits P1 to P27,” said defense counsel, Joseph Daudu (SAN), to which Williams responded, “The name Bello did not appear anywhere.”
Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned the trial to Friday, March 6, 2025, for further proceedings.
