Yaya Bello’s N110.4bn Trial: EFCC Traces Kogi LG Funds To Adaudu’s Company

An operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), John Justice, has told the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, how investigators traced funds originating from local government areas in Kogi State through three companies to Keyless Nature Limited, which he said was linked to Abba Adaudu.

The witness, who testified as the 20th prosecution witness (PW20) in the ongoing trial of former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, also told Justice M. E. Anenih that CCTV footage obtained from banks during the investigation reportedly showed that customers were not physically taking cash out of the banks, despite transactions being recorded as cash withdrawals.

Prosecution counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, presented the witness as Bello and two others face a 16-count charge bordering on alleged criminal breach of trust and money laundering involving N110.4 billion.

Defence counsel, J. B. Daudu, SAN, appeared for Bello and the second defendant, Umar Shuaibu Oricha, while counsel to the third defendant, Abdulsalami Hudu, also attended the proceedings.

Justice, who said he had served the EFCC for approximately nine years, told the court that he participated in the investigation as a member of its Procurement Fraud Section.

He said he underwent 14 months of training at the Nigerian Defence Academy and the EFCC Academy, including courses on asset tracing and procurement, money laundering, and advance-fee fraud.

The witness identified members of his investigative team as Emeka Okonjo, Adamu Maa, Hamza Lawal and Dauda Usman.

He added that the team was subsequently merged with the Chairman Monitoring Unit, a committee headed by Adamu Tilde, with Audu Abubakar and Yazid Bawa also joining the investigation.

According to him, the investigation began after the EFCC received intelligence concerning activities involving local governments in Kogi State.

He said three companies —Hayza Business Enterprise, Vifaz Business Enterprise and Fazab Business Enterprise—were mentioned in the intelligence.

Justice testified that subsequent Bank Verification Number (BVN) searches identified Yakubu Adebenege Isia and Iyadi Sadat as individuals associated with the companies.

He explained that Keyless Nature Limited was not initially part of the investigation but came under scrutiny after investigators obtained transaction records from banks, including Access Bank and Zenith Bank.

According to the witness, an instrument examined during the investigation revealed that Keyless Nature Limited had received transfers from the three companies.

He identified Exhibits AT and AU as the statements of account of Keyless Nature Limited, Exhibit AP as the statement of account of Fazab Business Enterprise, and Exhibit AO as the statement of account of Hayma Business Enterprise.

The witness said analysis of the account statements showed that most of the inflows into the companies originated from local government areas in Kogi State.

He further told the court that a BVN search conducted on Keyless Nature Limited returned the name Abba Adaudu.

Justice said further analysis showed that the companies received inflows from Kogi State, which were subsequently recorded as cash withdrawals.

He explained that, owing to the volume of the transactions, the investigative team requested CCTV footage from the banks to establish how the withdrawals were carried out.

According to him, the footage reportedly showed that customers were not physically taking the cash out of the banks.

The witness said further investigation revealed that the transactions were processed as what he described as “in-and-out” transactions, involving a customer presenting a withdrawal cheque and a deposit slip bearing a different account number.

Earlier, during the cross-examination of another prosecution witness, Daudu tendered four documents, including certified records of proceedings in two separate criminal cases and an extra-judicial statement made to the EFCC by Jamilu Abdullahi on May 10, 2022.

Pinheiro indicated that the prosecution had no objection to their admission.

Justice Anenih consequently admitted the documents in evidence and marked them as Exhibits AZ(1), AZ(2), AZ(3) and AZ(4), respectively.

The witness identified Exhibit AZ(3) as the statement he made to the EFCC in 2022 and Exhibit AZ(2) as the record of proceedings in which he had previously been cross-examined by defence counsel.

He confirmed that he instructed Aleshua Solutions Limited, Forza Oil and Gas, and Whales Oil and Gas to transfer funds and facilitate the payment of school fees to the American International School.

The witness maintained that he dealt exclusively with Abba Adaudu and had no dealings with any friend of Adaudu.

When confronted with his testimony in previous proceedings, in which he had mentioned a friend of Adaudu, he explained that he had stated that the driver remained in the car while Adaudu went upstairs to his office.

He reiterated that he had no dealings or transactions with anyone other than Adaudu.

The witness also testified that he had never met the third defendant, Abdulsalami Hudu, and had no transactions with him.

There being no re-examination, the witness was discharged, after which Pinheiro applied for the next prosecution witness to be called.

At the beginning of the proceedings, Justice Anenih had informed counsel that only one hour would be available because the court was scheduled to rise by 12:30 p.m. for an official assignment and had other matters on the cause list.

Pinheiro requested an extension, explaining that he had arrived from London that morning and that it would be unproductive to sit for only an hour before adjourning the case.

The court, however, maintained its position, while Daudu assured the court that his cross-examination would be brief because he was already familiar with the witness.

The testimony of PW20 was subsequently suspended after the court observed that the allotted time had elapsed.

The court adjourned the case to November 24, December 2 and December 8, 2026, for continuation of the trial.