The defence team of former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello has bluntly told the Federal High Court, Abuja, that the case instituted against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is nothing more than a political witch-hunt disguised as a money laundering trial.
Mr Joseph Daudu, SAN, made the assertion on Wednesday before Justice Emeka Nwite, in a sharp rebuttal to remarks by EFCC counsel, Mr Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, during proceedings.
The stinging exchange unfolded while Olomotane Egoro, the EFCC’s seventh prosecution witness (PW-7) and a compliance officer with Access Bank Plc, was being rigorously cross-examined by the defence.
Under oath, the witness made a series of admissions that appeared to undermine the prosecution’s case. Egoro confirmed unequivocally that Bello never served as a local government chairman in Kogi State and had no role in awarding any of the contracts under investigation.
He further admitted that all the contracts referenced by the prosecution were awarded by various local government chairmen, as reflected in Exhibit 33 tendered before the court.
More damaging to the prosecution, Egoro told the court that Bello’s name did not appear anywhere in the transaction records linked to the alleged money laundering. According to him, “Yahaya Bello” was neither a sender nor a recipient in any of the local government transactions cited by the EFCC.
The witness also conceded that transactions contained in Exhibit 33(11), particularly those involving local governments and Keyless Nature Limited, were, on their face, consistent with normal banking operations. He admitted he did not know the purposes of several payments made by the 21 local government areas, nor could he establish whether there was any contractual relationship between the councils and the company.
Egoro further testified that banks only raise red flags where fraud is suspected, stressing that customers are free to spend their money as they choose. He confirmed that Access Bank was not acting under any court order and had no fraud report relating to the transactions in question.
On payments made to Fayzade Business Enterprise, the witness identified a May 6, 2022 inflow from Okene Local Government Area as payment for the supply of reading materials. He also listed other payments from Ogorimagongo, Okehi, Omala and Yagba local government areas for clearly stated purposes, including education materials, medical items, sporting equipment and medical consumables, with amounts running into several millions of naira. Other transactions, he said, covered agrochemicals, farm inputs and medical supplies.
When pressed by the defence to confirm whether Bello was a local government chairman in any part of Kogi State, Egoro answered plainly: he was not.
In an apparent attempt to rescue the prosecution’s narrative, Pinheiro interjected, suggesting that payments in money laundering cases are often disguised. Daudu immediately fired back, insisting that such casual remarks could not mask the reality before the court.
He maintained that the evidence so far had exposed the trial as politically motivated, declaring that the proceedings would soon be seen for what they truly are — a political prosecution rather than a genuine money laundering case.
Justice Nwite subsequently adjourned the matter until February 5 for the continuation of the cross-examination of the prosecution witness.
