EFCC Vs Yahaya Bello : Court Fixes March 9 For Ruling

The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Tuesday, fixed March 9, 2026, for ruling on the admissibility of a document sought to be presented by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in the ongoing alleged money laundering trial of the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello.

Justice Emeka Nwite fixed the date for ruling after listening to the arguments of the prosecution and defence counsels on the admissibility or otherwise of the property-related document, which Yahaya Bello’s counsel argued was not before the Court during the examination-in-chief of the 10th witness, Mahmoud Abdulazeez.

The documents are the title deed and irrevocable power of attorney in respect of a property in Gwarinpa District of Abuja allegedly sold by Dantata and Sawoe Construction Company to Azba Real Estate Limited at N100M.

The title deed and the irrevocable power of attorney were said to have been endorsed by Mubarak Dantata on behalf of the Construction Company and one Ali Bello on behalf of the Azba Real Estate Limited.

Dispute arose when counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC, Chukwudi Enebeli SAN sought to tender the two documents through Abdulazeez and was vehemently opposed by Joseph Daudu SAN, lead counsel to the former governor.

Among others, Daudu argued that the documents were not admissible having not been certified by the appropriate authority hence the documents were of no help because there was no where in them when the issue of N100M consideration was mentally.

Daudu argued that being documents on landed property, they ought to be registered under the land law before they could have probate value of being admitted.

Although the two documents carried certification of EFCC, Daudu maintained that the agency lacked power to do what it did adding that the Abuja Geographical Information Service AGIS is the only body vested with the power of registering and certifying such documents.

Following the hot argument that followed, Kemi Pinheiro, the lead counsel to EFCC took over from Enebeli SAN and urged the court to admit the documents for the purpose of establishing the transactions between Dantata and Sawoe and Azba Real Estate limited.

After taking arguments, Justice Nwite fixed March 9 for his decision to be made known.

Earlier, the eighth prosecution witness, Gabriel Ochoche, while being cross-examined by the Defendant’s Counsel, Joseph Daudu, SAN, had said he could not link the name of the former governor to any of the transactions before the court.

The witness also admitted that he did not have any direct interpersonal relationship with the signatories to the account of one Kumfayakum Global Limited, which was presented as exhibit.

This was after he was told to confirm the account opening package and statement of account of the company, covering January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2024 whether Yahaya Bello’s name featured in the entire documents of transactions.

Ochoche, a compliance officer with FCMB admitted that, from the face of the document, he could not tell what a particular inflow of N100 million from Keyless Nature Limited, on December 15, 2021, was meant for.

The prosecution witness,
who said he had worked with FCMB for four years, with seven years’ experience in the banking sector, also noted that he was not the account manager for the company’s account admitting that apart from the said transactions, Yahaya Bello’s name did not appear anywhere at all in Exhibit 37.

Garry Ochigbo, Edited By Grace Namiji