Yahaya Bello Trial: Witness Says Kogi LG Funds Were Channelled Into Multiple Private Accounts
The trial of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Adoza Bello, over alleged money laundering continued on Friday, January 30, 2026, with a prosecution witness telling the court that funds from Kogi State local government areas were paid into several private bank accounts in a manner designed to evade financial reporting regulations.
VERITY NEWS reports that it obtained the press statement on the proceedings from the official Facebook page of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The case is before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja, where Bello is standing trial on a 19-count charge filed by the EFCC, bordering on money laundering amounting to ₦80.24 billion.
Testifying as the seventh prosecution witness, Olomotane Egoro, a compliance officer with Access Bank Plc, told the court that inflows from Kogi State local governments were structured through multiple deposits into private accounts to avoid triggering Currency Transaction Reports (CTR) to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).
Led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, Egoro identified several bank statements tendered as exhibits and explained that certain transactions were deliberately kept below the ₦10 million threshold required for mandatory reporting to the NFIU.
He drew the court’s attention to transactions carried out at Access Bank’s Lokoja Branch between April and May 2020, noting that a total of 21 cash deposits were made into an account, each below ₦10 million. According to him, the pattern of deposits indicated structured transactions aimed at evading regulatory scrutiny.
Egoro further testified on accounts belonging to companies such as Keyless Nature Limited and Hayzma Business Enterprise, which, he said, received multiple inflows from various Kogi State local government areas. He added that shortly after the inflows, large sums were either transferred to accounts in other banks or withdrawn in cash.
In one instance, the witness told the court that Hayzma Business Enterprise received over ₦813 million from several local governments in August 2020 alone, out of which more than ₦546 million was withdrawn in cash within 12 days by an individual identified as Yakubu Siyaka.
He also disclosed that one of the Keyless Nature Limited accounts received a ₦2.1 billion loan disbursement from Access Bank in December 2021, followed by large withdrawals and subsequent inflows from local governments of the state, a trend that continued until February 2024.
During the testimony, defence counsel, Abdulwahab Mohammed, SAN, objected to aspects of the questioning, but Justice Nwite overruled the objection, holding that the witness was qualified to explain banking and compliance matters before the court.
At the close of proceedings, the defence requested additional time to review documents tendered by the witness ahead of cross-examination. The prosecution opposed the request, noting that the documents had been made available to the defence for over a year.
Justice Nwite subsequently adjourned the matter to February 4 and 5, 2026, for the cross-examination of the witness and continuation of hearing.