Yahaya Bello Fraud Trial: EFCC Witness Links Inflows To Kogi LG Accounts

An Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) operative has told the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja, that most funds credited to the account of a company under investigation in the alleged N110.4bn fraud case involving former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello came from local government accounts in the state on a monthly basis.

The witness, John Justice, disclosed this on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, while testifying as the 20th prosecution witness (PW20) before Justice Maryanne Anineh.

Bello is standing trial alongside Umar Shuaibu Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu on a 16-count charge bordering on alleged criminal breach of trust and money laundering involving N110.4bn.

Led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, Justice said investigators examined the inflows and outflows of several companies as part of efforts to trace the movement of funds through their accounts.

He said the commission obtained records from banks and analysed the transactions, identifying Keyless Ventures as another company that benefited from proceeds traced to the companies under investigation.

According to the witness, an analysis of the statement of account of Forza Business Enterprise showed that most of the funds credited to it came from Kogi State local government accounts on a monthly basis.

“Most of the funds coming into the account were funds from Kogi State Local Government accounts coming on monthly basis,” he told the court.

Justice added that the investigators’ analysis showed that the companies received funds from Kogi State, while the transactions were recorded as cash withdrawals.

“Our analysis reveals that these companies were receiving inflow from Kogi State while transactions were treated as cash withdrawals,” he said.

The witness said the commission subsequently invited officials of Access Bank and Zenith Bank and requested closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage because of the large sums recorded as cash withdrawals.

He told the court that the footage showed that the funds recorded as withdrawn were not physically taken out of the banks.

Explaining the transactions, Justice said a customer could enter a bank, fill out a cheque withdrawal and deposit the money into another account, rather than physically collecting the cash.

Earlier in his testimony, he said the investigation began after the EFCC’s Procurement Fraud Section received intelligence concerning the activities of local governments in Kogi State.

He said the intelligence mentioned several companies, including Hayzma, Bibas Energy, Forza Oil and Gas, and Keyless Ventures.

Justice said investigators conducted Bank Verification Number (BVN) searches and wrote to the relevant banks for information, after which the responses were analysed.

When asked by Pinheiro to examine Exhibits AU, AT, AP and AO and confirm whether they related to the investigation, the witness said the documents were connected to the case.

He identified Exhibit AO as relating to Hayzma Business Enterprise, Exhibit AT as Keyless Nature and Exhibit AP as Forza Business Enterprise.

The witness further told the court that a BVN search relating to Keyless Nature returned the name Abba Adaudu, while earlier searches had returned the names Yakubu Siyaka Adebenege and Iyadat Sa’adat.

Justice, who said he had worked as an EFCC operative for more than nine years, told the court that he had received training in asset tracing, internet fraud, anti-money laundering and advance-fee fraud at the EFCC Academy.

He confirmed that he had participated in the investigation involving the defendants.