A bank compliance officer on Wednesday told an Abuja High Court in Maitama of how Abdulsalam Hudu, an aide to Yahaya Bello, former Kogi State governor, allegedly withdrew over ₦1 billion from the Kogi State Government House account within four days in 2018.
The witness, Mshelia Arhyel Bata, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank Plc, appeared as the sixth prosecution witness (PW6) in the ongoing trial of Bello and two others before Justice Maryanne Anenih.
Bello is standing trial alongside Umar Shuaibu Oricha and Abdulsalam Hudu on a 16-count charge of criminal breach of trust and alleged diversion of ₦110,446,470,089, brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
All three defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Led in evidence by Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), EFCC counsel, Bata told the court that Hudu, the third defendant, made several large cash withdrawals from the Kogi State Government House account between 2016 and 2018.
According to him, records showed that between January 30 and February 2, 2018, Hudu withdrew a total of ₦1,096,444,300 from the account.
He provided a breakdown of the transactions as follows: ₦350 million on January 30, ₦347,267,000 on January 31, ₦300 million on February 1, and ₦99,177,300 on February 2, 2018.
Bata further testified that the withdrawals followed a consistent pattern.
He noted that on February 12, 2016, Hudu made 21 withdrawals totaling ₦200 million, and on December 21, 2016, another 40 withdrawals were made from the same account.
Read also: Witness reveals ₦117m withdrawn from 13 Kogi LGs in Yahaya Bello’s ₦80bn trial
He also disclosed that on May 9, 2017, Hudu made 21 withdrawals amounting to ₦203,240,000.
“I can confirm several cash withdrawals made by Abdulsalam Hudu, all following a consistent pattern,” Bata said.
The witness added that another individual, Umar Comfort Olufunke, also made withdrawals from the same account between November 2016 and April 2017.
Following a request for adjournment by Abdullahi Yahaya (SAN), Bello’s counsel, Justice Anenih adjourned the matter until Thursday for cross-examination of the witness.
