By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

ABUJA— The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, yesterday, adjourned further hearing on the 19-count money laundering charge the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, filed against the former Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, to January 29, 2026.

Bello, who piloted the affairs of Kogi state from 2016 to 2024, is facing trial over his alleged complicity in an N80.2billion fraud.

The case was adjourned after the 7th prosecution witness, Olomotame Egoro, a compliance officer with Access Bank Plc, concluded testimony and was discharged from the box.

Counsel to the EFCC, Mr. Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, had at the resumed hearing on the case, sought to tender through the witness, bank documents that were marked as Exhibits 33 (1- 11) and 34.
The application was opposed by the defence lawyer, Abdullahi Yahaya, SAN, who contended that the exhibit being demonstrated by the prosecution and its witness, was unknown to the defendant.

He noted that a certificate of identification that was attached to the document sought to be tendered, was signed by one Faruk Idiaro, not the witness in the box.

In his response, the prosecution counsel argued that though the certificate was different, the main documents that contained the transaction history, remained the same.

Following a one hour standdown of the case, the witness, upon resumption of the proceeding, confirmed that there were seven columns in the statement of account that was tendered and explained what the different columns stood for.

Led by the prosecution counsel, the witness identified the transactions that occurred in the account statement of the Kogi State Government House Administration, from December 2018 to August 2021.

Source; Vanguard News