A federal high court in Abuja will rule on March 9 on whether a document sought to be tendered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) can be admitted as evidence in the money laundering trial of former Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello.
Justice Emeka Nwite fixed the date after hearing arguments from both the prosecution and defence on the admissibility of the property-related document during proceedings on Tuesday.
Bello’s counsel, Joseph Daudu, SAN, objected to the document being admitted, arguing that it was not presented during the examination-in-chief of the EFCC’s 10th prosecution witness, Mahmoud Abdulazeez.
Earlier in the proceedings, the eighth prosecution witness, Gabriel Ochoche, a compliance officer with Wema Bank, told the court during cross-examination that he could not link Bello’s name to any of the transactions presented as evidence.
Ochoche also said he had no direct relationship with the signatories to the account of Kumfayakum Global Limited, a company whose account documents were tendered in court. He confirmed reviewing the company’s account opening documents and statements covering January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2024.
When asked about a N100 million inflow into the account from Keyless Nature Limited on December 15, 2021, the witness said he could not determine the purpose of the payment from the documents before him.
He also said he was not the account manager for the company and could not explain the relationship between Keyless Nature Limited and Kumfayakum Global Limited.
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Asked in court if Bello’s name appeared in any of the transactions contained in Exhibit 37, the witness replied that it did not.
Another witness, Oluwafemi Victoria, a compliance officer with Polaris Bank, also testified about transactions conducted through accounts under investigation.
The EFCC later called its 10th witness, Mahmoud Abdulazeez, chief accountant and head of accounts at Dantata & Sawoe Construction Company.
Abdulazeez told the court that a property at Plot 1160, Cadastral Zone C03, Gwarinpa II District, Abuja, was the subject of a Deed of Assignment executed between Mubarak Dantata, acting for Dantata & Sawoe Construction Company, and Ali Bello on behalf of Azba Real Estate Limited.
The prosecution sought to connect Maigari Murtala, who allegedly made payments for the property, with the parties to the transaction.
However, the defence objected, arguing that questions about the contents of the Deed of Assignment were improper because the document had not yet been tendered before the court.
When the EFCC attempted to submit the Deed of Assignment and an Irrevocable Power of Attorney as evidence, Daudu opposed their admissibility. He argued that the documents were registrable instruments relating to land title and were not registered, making them inadmissible in both civil and criminal proceedings.
Lead prosecution counsel Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, countered that the documents were being tendered to support the witness’s oral testimony about the transaction and were not intended to establish land ownership.
Daudu maintained that the documents were defective because they lacked a consideration clause showing the terms of the transaction.
Justice Nwite adjourned the case until March 9 to rule on the admissibility of the documents and continue the trial.
