Daniel Otera
A bank compliance officer on Thursday detailed a pattern of suspicious and large-scale cash withdrawals and transfers from the Kogi State Government’s account during the tenure of former Governor Yahaya Bello.
Testifying before the Federal High Court in Abuja, Mshelia Arhyel, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank, told Justice Emeka Nwite that over ₦1 billion was withdrawn from the government’s account over a span of just a few days. Mr Arhyel is the fourth prosecution witness in the ₦80.2 billion money laundering trial involving the former governor.
The transactions, according to Mr Arhyel, were captured in the bank records admitted by the court as Exhibits 22 and 22A, which include the Kogi State Government’s account statement, account opening forms, and a certificate of identification.
Exhibit 22A, a voluminous document spanning pages 24 to 413, outlines a series of transactions that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alleges were part of an elaborate scheme to divert public funds. Mr Bello, who governed Kogi State from January 2016 to January 2024, is currently standing trial on 19 counts of money laundering brought by the EFCC.
The anti-graft agency alleges that the funds in question are proceeds of unlawful activity during Mr Bello’s administration. It further claims that part of the money was used to pay school fees for the former governor’s children and purchase properties in high-end areas of Abuja.
Led in evidence by prosecuting counsel Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, Mr Arhyel walked the court through a series of transactions made from the state’s account, beginning as early as April 2016.
Referring to page 34 of the account statement, the witness noted that on 16 April 2016, the sum of ₦4.55 million was transferred to a company called Danihopewell Services Limited. He said, “There was no corresponding credit entry for that transaction.”
The witness also referenced multiple cheque withdrawals on 23 May 2016, appearing on page 39 of the document. He identified Abdulsalami Hudu as the beneficiary of those transactions. Mr Hudu is also a co-defendant in a separate ₦110 billion corruption trial before the FCT High Court.
“One of the transactions was a cash withdrawal of ₦10 million—the maximum allowed per cheque,” Mr Arhyel said, adding that there were eight other identical withdrawals made the same day by the same individual.
Further entries on 5 May 2016 revealed 12 withdrawals, each valued at ₦10 million. On subsequent dates 6, 8, and 9 May 2016 similar withdrawals were recorded, all tied to Mr Hudu.
By 30 January 2018, Mr Arhyel said that the account had received 10 credit inflows from the Kogi State Statutory Revenue Account, followed on the same day by 35 cheque withdrawals, each worth ₦10 million, amounting to ₦350 million.
The following day, 31 January 2018, he noted that 36 cheques were processed: 33 for ₦10 million each, while three others totalled ₦17.267 million. “The total cash withdrawn by Mr Hudu over these two days was ₦697.267 million,” Mr Arhyel said.
The witness further testified that on 1 February 2018, ₦300 million was withdrawn in 30 separate ₦10 million cheques. The next day, 2 February 2018, 13 more withdrawals were processed, with values ranging between ₦2.874 million and ₦10 million.
“In total, between 30 January and 2 February 2018, the sum of ₦1,096,830,000 was withdrawn from the Kogi State Government account,” he said.
Mr Arhyel also cited a transfer of over ₦3 million on 1 February 2018 from the Government House in favour of Ali Bello, a nephew of the former governor. Ali Bello is currently facing separate corruption charges before two judges of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The witness further testified that on 2 May 2018, 41 cheque withdrawals of ₦10 million each were recorded, alongside additional withdrawals of ₦8.955 million and ₦5.54 million.
A similar pattern emerged in May 2022. On 6 May, he said ₦100 million was transferred from the Kogi State Statutory Revenue Account and withdrawn the same day by Mr Hudu in 10 ₦10 million transactions.
Again, on 11 May 2022, another ₦100 million inflow was followed by identical withdrawals. On 19 May 2022, the same pattern occurred with withdrawals this time linked to a certain Mr Umar.
Between pages 395 and 401 of the exhibit, Mr Arhyel highlighted consistent inflows and outflows of exactly ₦100 million, always followed by immediate withdrawals. The principal beneficiaries during this period were Mr Hudu and another individual named Mr Koji.
The court also heard that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) imposes a 5 per cent surcharge for excess cash withdrawals by corporate and government entities. On 7 and 11 September 2023, the account incurred surcharges of ₦4.75 million as a result of such withdrawals.
Following the testimony, Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned the matter to Friday for the cross-examination of the witness by Mr Bello’s legal team. The defence had requested time to properly review Exhibit 22A.
Before Mr Arhyel took the stand, the court had permitted the prosecution to re-examine its third witness, an unusual step in Nigerian criminal proceedings.
While partially overruling the defence’s objection, the judge clarified that the re-examination would be limited to matters already raised during cross-examination and restricted to pages 1, 14, and 15 of Exhibit 19, which was already in evidence.
The witness, Nicholas Ojehomon, an internal auditor at the American International School, Abuja, was briefly re-examined and then discharged. Mr Ojehomon had earlier testified that over $800,000 was paid in tuition fees for Mr Bello’s children at the school.
At the same sitting, the EFCC opposed an application by Mr Bello seeking leave of court to travel abroad for medical treatment. The application was presented by J.B. Daudu, SAN, who urged the court to prioritise his client’s health.
Daudu told the court the request was supported by a 22-paragraph affidavit deposed to by the former governor, as well as a medical report and a letter from a consultant cardiologist.
“The subject of this application is the release of his passport, which was surrendered as part of his bail conditions,” Mr Daudu said. “What should be considered is not whether there are alternatives in Nigeria but whether the defendant poses a flight risk.”
He added, “He has no criminal record in those countries. The defendant is not a flight risk and will return before the end of August. My lord can even specify a return date.”
But opposing the motion, Mr Pinheiro described the application as “an abuse of court process,” pointing out that similar applications had been filed before other courts.
He said, “The motion is technically incompetent,” arguing that the sureties to the bail were not informed, which creates a legal risk.
He also told the court that the former governor was already under an international red notice due to ongoing investigations involving properties in Dubai and bank accounts in the United States and United Kingdom.
“The defendant is already under a red notice and international alert. He risks being arrested abroad and extradited. He could be ‘Hushpuppied’ from Dubai,” he said, referencing a known cybercrime extradition case.
Pinheiro further questioned the authenticity of the medical report, saying, “He says he has low potassium; bananas and pawpaw will handle that. This is not sufficient reason to fly to the UK.”
He added, “From Abuja to Lokoja is two hours. I advise him to visit that hospital rather than take a six-hour flight abroad,” referring to a hospital Mr Bello had commissioned while in office.
In his reply, Mr Daudu maintained that the red notice had expired following Mr Bello’s arraignment and that the sureties’ consent was not legally required for the motion.
Mr Bello continues to face multiple corruption charges. Aside from the ₦80.2 billion money laundering trial before the Federal High Court, he is also being prosecuted by the EFCC in another ₦110 billion fraud case at the FCT High Court.
His nephew, Ali Bello, also faces separate corruption trials. He currently serves as Chief of Staff to Kogi State Governor Usman Ododo, Bello’s political ally and successor.