KEY POINTS
- The court adjourned Yahaya Bello’s alleged money laundering trial to May 6–7, 2026.
- A prosecution witness testified about dollar transactions and admitted gaps in earlier statements.
- Discrepancies in evidence emerged, while the court allowed additional exhibits despite defence objections.
Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned the ongoing alleged money laundering trial of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, to May 6 and 7, 2026.
The adjournment is to allow for the continuation of cross-examination of the 12th prosecution witness.
The witness, Abdullahi Jamilu, told the court he made only one statement to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on May 10, 2022. During cross-examination by defence counsel Joseph Daudu (SAN), he admitted that some company names and transaction details mentioned in court were not included in his earlier statement.
Jamilu explained that he relied on colleagues to process dollar transactions because his personal accounts could not handle such transfers directly. He also revealed that he once delivered dollars to a police officer on behalf of Abba Adaudu.
Disputes Over Evidence and Exhibits
The witness confirmed he was not the author of one of the key documents (Exhibit 13) and noted discrepancies between exhibits presented in court. Despite objections from the defence, the court allowed the EFCC to re-present a previous statement (Exhibit 46), dismissing the defence’s argument as speculative.
Additional documents were later admitted as Exhibit 47 without objection. Jamilu also acknowledged that some receipts linked to school fee payments were incomplete.
Jamilu told the court he had previously testified before another judge in a related case involving other defendants, including Ali Bello and Abah Adaudu. He said the transactions discussed in both cases were similar.
He further stated that funds were transferred to the American International School based on instructions from Adaudu, though he could not recall all individuals involved.
