Alhaji Yahaya Bello, the former governor of Kogi and his client, is being tried in a political trial rather than a money laundering case, Mr. Joseph Daudu, SAN, said the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday.
In response to a statement made by Mr. Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, an attorney for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Daudu made the statement in front of Justice Emeka Nwite.
The incident happened during Daudu’s cross-examination of Olomotane Egoro, a compliance officer from Access Bank Plc and the EFCC’s seventh prosecution witness (PW-7).
Egoro acknowledged in court that the former governor did not hold the position of local government chairman in Kogi after being subpoenaed by the anti-graft agency to testify in Bello’s purported money laundering trial.
The PW-7 made this statement in light of the fact that, according to the prosecution’s Exhibit 33 documents, the contracts in question were given out by local government chairmen for a variety of reasons.
Additionally, the witness acknowledged that none of the local government transactions under inquiry contained any mention of the former governor’s name in the exhibit.
He said that neither the sender nor the recipient had the name “Yahaya Bello” on them.
Egoro further acknowledged that the entries in the transactions between the local governments and Keyless Nature Limited appeared to be compatible with typical banking transactions on the surface of Exhibit 33(11).
You alerted my lord to a long list of payments made into the Keyless account by the 21 local government entities, including one made on October 11, 2022.
“Are you aware of the reason behind those transactions or entries?” Daudu inquired.
The witness answered, “No, my lord.”
Additionally, he acknowledged that he was unable to determine from the documentation if the LGAs and Keyless Nature Limited had a contractual or commercial relationship.
The witness added that unless there was a fraud problem, a consumer had the freedom to spend his money anyway he pleased.
The lawyer asked, “Verify that your bank was not subject to a court order regarding the transactions in Exhibit 33(11) and that you have no reports of fraud.”
“You’re right, my lord,” he said.
The defendant’s attorney instructed the witness to review the May 6, 2022, transaction in the sixth column and explain the details to the court regarding payments made into Fayzade Business Enterprise.
In response, Egoro claimed that it was an inflow from the Okene Local Government Area and that the document’s stated goal was to provide reading materials.
Additionally, the witness stated that payments from Ogorimagongo, Okehi, Omala, and Yagba LGAs were made for a variety of objectives, including education supplies (N4.4 million), medical supplies (N7.5 million), athletic gear (N10.8 million), and medical supplies (N12.2 million).
The PW-7 also listed the purposes for which additional payments were paid, including medical supplies, agricultural inputs, and agrochemicals.
“Are you aware of whether this defendant is the chairman of a local government and which local government in Kogi State?” Daudu then inquired.
He answered, “No, the defendant wasn’t a chairman of the local government.”
Pinheiro, however, stood up in a lighthearted manner and stated that payments made in money laundering situations are typically disguised.
“My lord, my leader (Daudu) casually told me that this is a case of money laundering where payments can be made in disguise,” he remarked.
“Not all casual statements are made to go without reply, my lord,” Daudu retorted.
We will soon see that this is a political trial rather than a money laundering trial.
In order to continue the cross-examination of the PW-7, Justice Nwite postponed the case to February 5. (NAN)(
