A witness, Nicholas Ojehomon, has testified before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja, detailing how former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, paid his children’s school fees in dollars and in advance until their graduation.
Ojehomon, an internal auditor at the American International School, Abuja, appeared as the third prosecution witness presented by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Bello’s ongoing ₦80.2 billion fraud case.
During his testimony, Ojehomon stated that while he had no personal acquaintance with Bello, he was aware that the former governor’s children were enrolled at the school.
“I did not know the defendant personally, but I am aware that he is a parent of children enrolled in our school,” he said.
He identified the children as Zayan Bello, Zara Bello, Farid Bello, Na’ima Bello, and Nana Fatima Bello, confirming that each was admitted in different academic years. His review of Exhibit 12, an agreement for prepaid tuition fees, revealed that Ali Bello, a cousin of Yahaya Bello, had contacted the school in 2021 to make advance payments for their tuition until graduation.
The prosecution counsel, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), tendered several documents in evidence, including certified copies of the children’s admission letters, the prepaid tuition agreement, teller copies of payments, email correspondences between Ali Bello and the school, as well as statements of account from TD Bank USA and the American International School. With no objections from the defense, the court admitted the documents as exhibits.
Ojehomon further testified that substantial amounts were paid in advance for each child’s fees: Farid Bello’s fees totaled $90,074, Zara Bello’s $87,470, Na’ima Bello’s $26,241, and Nana Bello’s $18,707.
Additionally, the prosecution presented Exhibit 17, a letter from the American International School to the EFCC requesting a valid account number for the refund of prepaid fees. The document listed two amounts—$845,082.84 and $750,910.84—of which the latter was designated for refund to the EFCC. Exhibit 18, a letter from the EFCC to the school, instructed that the refund be made to a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) account.
Earlier, the second prosecution witness, Williams Abimbola, a compliance officer with United Bank for Africa (UBA), presented documents, including a statement of account belonging to the Kogi State Government House. Marked as Exhibit 8, the statement revealed a total credit of ₦53.56 billion and a total debit of ₦53.55 billion between January 2019 and December 2020.
During cross-examination, Abimbola confirmed that multiple withdrawals of ₦10 million each were made in favor of one Abdulsalam Hudu on December 12, 2018, using cheques processed over the counter.
In a re-examination, the prosecution clarified that Exhibit 2P1, the certificate of compliance, was signed on behalf of Edward Bamanga, a relevant bank official, affirming the authenticity of the financial documents.
“All records presented are verifiable and were duly obtained in line with legal procedures,” the prosecution counsel stated.
The defense counsel, Joseph Daudu (SAN), contested the credibility of the witness, arguing that an Abuja-based compliance officer of UBA could not scrutinize an account domiciled in the Lokoja branch of the bank.
Justice Nwite adjourned the case to Friday, March 7, 2025, for the continuation of the trial.
