By Peter.
he Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday postponed the ongoing trial of former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello on a 19-count money laundering indictment brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), setting the next hearing for January 29, 2026.
Bello, who served as governor from 2016 to 2024, faces accusations of involvement in a fraud scheme totaling N80.2 billion. The delay came after the EFCC’s seventh witness, Olomotame Egoro—a compliance officer at Access Bank Plc—completed his examination and stepped down from the stand.
During the session, EFCC counsel Kemi Pinheiro (SAN) moved to introduce bank records marked as Exhibits 33 (parts 1–11) and 34 via the witness. Bello’s defense attorney, Abdullahi Yahaya (SAN), challenged the move, asserting that the materials were unfamiliar to his client and that the accompanying identification certificate had been signed by Faruk Idiaro, not the testifying witness. Pinheiro countered that while the certificate varied, the core transaction records themselves were consistent and unaltered.
After a one-hour recess to address the issue, proceedings resumed with Egoro verifying the seven key columns in the proffered account statement—covering dates, descriptions, withdrawals, deposits, and balances—and detailing their significance. Under Pinheiro’s guidance, the witness then highlighted specific transactions in the Kogi State Government House Administration account spanning December 2018 to August 2021.
Justice Emeka Nwite ultimately scheduled additional dates—January 30, February 4, and February 5, 2026—for the case to proceed, amid ongoing debates over evidentiary admissibility. The EFCC alleges the illicit flows involved withdrawals, transfers, and laundering of state funds through various official and private channels between 2018 and 2022
