More woes for Yahaya Bello as Court admits fresh evidence against ex-Kogi governor

MaTaZ ArIsInG
Dallas, Texas

Former Kogi state governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello is facing fresh evidentiary proceedings as a FCT High Court admitted additional documents in his ongoing trial.

Justice Maryanne Anineh of the FCT High Court, Maitama, Abuja, admitted the documents on Tuesday.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Bello alongside Umar Shuaibu Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu on a 16-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust and money laundering involving ₦110.4 billion.

At the resumed hearing, prosecution counsel Kemi Pinheiro said he was concluding the examination-in-chief of the prosecution witness.

“My lord, on the last adjourned date, I was examining PW14 and I was about rounding up. The witness is here; I can finish so that we can take cross-examination,” he said.

Pinheiro also asked the court to defer pending applications, including one challenging jurisdiction, to allow the trial proceed without interruption.

Nicholas Okehone, an internal auditor of the American International School, Abuja, told the court he was aware of a suit filed by Ali Bello against the school.

The prosecution tendered the certified true copy of the judgment in Suit No. FCT/ST/CB/6574/2023 and a payment receipt.

Defence counsel J.B. Daudu and Z.E. Abbas did not object to the admissibility of the documents, while Justice Anineh admitted the documents and marked them as exhibits AY and AY2.

Led in evidence, the witness said Ali Bello was the claimant in the suit and father of a prospective student.

He, however, said Ali Bello was not the father of four other children referenced in the documents.

“From our record, Yahaya Adoza Bello is the father of the four children,” he said.

The witness said arrangements were made for upfront payment of school fees up to graduation, adding that $569,864.12 was paid into the school’s account domiciled in TD Bank.

“The sum of $569,864.12 was paid into the account of the school domiciled in TD Bank,” he said.

Under cross-examination, Daudu confirmed that the school is located in the Durumi district of Abuja.

The witness said he had served as internal auditor of the school for about eight to nine years.

He said his role did not involve interaction with students and that he did not represent the school in the suit.

The witness was discharged after cross-examination, with no re-examination by the prosecution.

Thereafter, the prosecution filed an application dated October 7, 2025, seeking to suspend the hearing of the first defendant’s motion challenging jurisdiction.

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