Three witnesses of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have admitted that there were massive withdrawals from Kogi State Government House Administration bank accounts but revealed that a former governor of the state, Yahaya Bello, was never a beneficiary of the withdrawals.
The witnesses, Mshelia Arhyel Bata of Zenith Bank, Mohammed Hassan of Keystone Bank, and Gabriel Oche of First City Monument Bank (FCMB), testified on Thursday for the anti-graft agency in the trial of Yahaya Bello and two others over alleged corruption.
They tendered several documents from their respective banks at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), detailing numerous withdrawals from Kogi State Government House Administration bank accounts.
Although the account opening packages and statements of account were admitted as exhibits, the witnesses, upon reviewing the statements, stated that Yahaya Bello’s name did not appear anywhere in the documents.
Specifically, they admitted that Bello’s name did not feature either as a signatory to the accounts or as a beneficiary of the withdrawals.
Mshelia Arhyel Bata of Zenith Bank, during the continuation of cross-examination by Joseph Daudu, SAN, counsel to Yahaya Bello, said he had gone through the documents and could not find the former governor’s name as a beneficiary.
He also explained that the purpose of the withdrawals could not be determined from the documents, adding that the pattern of withdrawals was consistent.
He identified Chris Enefola, a former Permanent Secretary; Onekutu Daniel, a Chief Accountant; and Abdulsalami Hudu, an Accountant, as signatories to the accounts.
Another witness, Mohammed Hassan from the Marketing Department of Keystone Bank, testified in respect of the Dantata and Sawoe accounts, stating that he was neither the account officer nor the relationship manager and therefore did not have knowledge of the account operations.
In his testimony, Gabriel Oche of FCMB admitted that several payments were made to the American International School, Abuja, through an account belonging to Kunfayakun Global Limited, but said he had no direct interpersonal relationship with any of the signatories to the account.
He testified that from the documents presented by his bank, the names of Yahaya Bello and the two other defendants standing trial with him did not feature in any of the transactions.
At Thursday’s proceedings, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, appeared for the EFCC, Joseph Daudu, SAN, for Yahaya Bello and Umar Shuaib Oricha, while Z. E. Abbass represented Abdulsalami Hudu.
Meanwhile, Justice Maryann Anenih adjourned the case to January 16.