The corruption trial of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Adoza Bello, took a significant turn on Thursday, January 15, 2026, as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) presented a fresh set of bank records as evidence. Bello is facing charges alongside Umar Shuaibu Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu over an alleged ₦110.4 billion fraud.
Courtroom Drama: New Evidence Presented
Before Justice Maryanne Anineh at the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja, the prosecution team led by Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, continued its case. The court session focused on the detailed examination of financial documents from several commercial banks.
The EFCC presented its sixth prosecution witness (PW6), Mashelia Arhyel Bata, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank. Under cross-examination by defence counsel J.B. Daudu, SAN, Bata explained entries in an exhibit labelled S1, which was a statement of account.
He pointed out specific transactions, including a ₦10 million cheque issued to the third defendant, Abdulsalami Hudu, on January 20, 2016. Another notable entry was a cheque payment of ₦2,454,400 to Halims Hotels and Tours in Lokoja. However, the witness clarified that while the statements showed the transactions, they did not reveal the specific purposes for which the funds were used.
Scrutiny of Government House Account and Security Votes
Further scrutiny was placed on Exhibit X1, identified as account opening documents for a company account at Zenith Bank's Lokoja branch. PW6 testified about substantial inflows and outflows in December 2016. This included a hefty ₦74.37 million credit from the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service and cheque payments of ₦10 million to Mohammed Jami’u Sallau.
During questioning by Z.B. Abbas, counsel for the third defendant, it was established that withdrawals from the Government House account were made by cheque and signed by authorised officials. These signatories included the Permanent Secretary, Chief Accountant, and an Accountant. The defence's attempt to argue that the third defendant was merely acting in his official capacity was opposed by the prosecution and upheld by the court.
PW6 also gave testimony on multiple inflows described as "security funds" and "special security votes" between February and September 2016, which were subsequently withdrawn. He confirmed the bank statements were authentic but noted that the abbreviation "sec" was not a standard banking term used by Zenith Bank.
Multiple Bank Officials Take the Stand
Following PW6's testimony, the EFCC called three more bank officials to solidify their case. Mohammed Bello Hassan (PW7), an executive trainee with Keystone Bank, presented the 2021 statement of account for Dantata and Sawoe Construction. He told the court the account showed several ₦10 million credit entries in February 2021, totalling ₦100 million, which were transferred by Maigari Murtala and Yusuf Mubarak in multiple tranches.
Under cross-examination, Hassan admitted he was not the account officer and had no personal knowledge of the account holders.
The prosecution then called Gabriel Ocha (PW8), a compliance officer with FCMB. He tendered documents relating to Kunfayakun Global Limited covering 2018 to 2024. His testimony highlighted transactions including a ₦30 million debit to the American International School and several ₦10 million web transfers on November 1, 2021.
Finally, A.D. Ojoma (PW9), a compliance officer with Sterling Bank, presented the statement of account for Bespoke Business Solutions Limited. He identified several large credit entries, including payments from the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service running into hundreds of millions of naira in 2019.
After a full day of detailed financial evidence, Justice Maryanne Anineh adjourned the matter to Friday, January 16, 2026, for the continuation of the trial. The presentation of these fresh records marks a crucial phase in one of Nigeria's most high-profile corruption cases.
