KEY POINTS

• Federal High Court rejected Yahaya Bello’s resistance to allow the EFCC to begin its first witness testimony.
• Judicial proceedings accuse Yahaya Bello of using **N110 billion** public money to buy several properties.
• The ongoing trial preceding April 3, 2025 received its next after hearing date.

A Federal High Court in Abuja ruled in favor of permitting the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to proceed with its first witness testimony in former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello’s ongoing N110 billion fraud trial.

Real estate businessman Fabian Nwaora appeared as the first EFCC witness during Wednesday’s court proceedings to present evidence regarding property transactions linked to Bello’s associate.

The court accepted the EFCC’s case after Judge Maryann Anenih dismissed former governor Yahaya Bello’s team’s evidence objections so proceedings could continue.

According to Nwaora who owns EFAB Property the company completed a N550 million property deal in Abuja’s Maitama neighborhood with Shehu Bello during 2020. A property document return by the purchaser in 2023 exposed EFCC investigation activities.

Nwaora said he received instructions from the anti-graft agency demanding return of the funds to an account controlled by the agency.

Details of the fraud allegations

The former Kogi state governor Bello faces a 16-count indictment alongside Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu for practicing money laundering and conspiracy along with criminal breaches against public trust.

The EFCC alleges that the ex-governor misappropriated public funds to acquire multiple properties, including:

A property on Danube Street, Maitama, Abuja, for N950 million.
A Gwarimpa II District in Abuja which the court valued at N100 million.
A residence on Justice Chukwudifu Oputa Street, Asokoro, Abuja, for N920 million.
The Wuse Zone 4 properties owned by Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu include an estate on Manzini street (N170 million) and another one on Benghazi Street (N310.4 million).
The hotel apartment located in Burj Khalifa, Dubai, carries a worth of greater than 5.69 million dirhams.
Two separate dollar transfers of $570,330 and $556,265 to a U.S. bank account.

After his December 2024 Kuje Prison remand period Bello successfully obtained a N500 million bail which matched the terms granted to his co-defendants during their release proceedings.

More hearings have been postponed by Justice Anenih to begin on April 3, 2025.