Yahaya Bello: EFCC Witness Says Companies Received Monthly Funds from Kogi LG Accounts
An operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), John Justice, has told the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Maitama, Abuja, that most of the funds credited to the accounts of companies under investigation in the alleged ₦110.4 billion fraud case involving former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello came from local government accounts in the state on a monthly basis.
Justice made the disclosure on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, while testifying as Prosecution Witness 20 (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 ₦110.4 billion.
Led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, the witness said investigators requested records of inflows and outflows from several companies as part of efforts to trace the movement of funds through their accounts.
He said responses received from the banks were analysed, leading investigators to identify Keyless Ventures as another company that benefited from proceeds traced to the companies under investigation.
Justice told the court that an analysis of the statement of account of Forza Business Enterprise showed that most of the funds credited to the account 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 said.
The witness further stated that the investigation revealed 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 told the court.
He said the EFCC subsequently invited officials of Access Bank and Zenith Bank and requested closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage because of the large amounts recorded as cash withdrawals.
According to him, the footage showed that the large sums recorded as withdrawals were not physically taken out of the banks.
Explaining the transactions, Justice said a customer could enter a bank, fill out a cheque withdrawal slip and a deposit slip for another account, resulting in a transaction being recorded as a withdrawal even though the money was transferred to a different account.
Earlier in his testimony, the witness said the investigation began after the EFCC’s Procurement Fraud Section (PFS) 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 told the court that investigators conducted Bank Verification Number (BVN) searches and wrote to the relevant banks for information, after which the responses were analysed.
When Pinheiro asked him 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.
He also said 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 served as an EFCC operative for more than nine years, told the court that he had received training at the EFCC Academy in asset tracing, internet fraud, anti-money laundering, advance fee fraud and other areas.
He confirmed that he participated in the investigation involving the defendants and identified Emeka Okonjo, Adamu Umar, Hamza Lawal and Dauda Usman as members of the investigation team. He also mentioned the Commission’s Chairman Monitoring Unit (CMU), headed by Adamu Tilde, with Audu Abubakar and Yazid Bawa among its members.
Earlier, counsel to the first and second defendants, J.B. Daudu, SAN, and counsel to the third defendant, Z.E. Abbas, concluded their cross-examination of PW19, Jamilu Abdullahi, a Bureau de Change operator.
Following the prosecution’s decision not to conduct a re-examination, Abdullahi was discharged after completing his testimony.
Justice Anineh adjourned the case to November 24, December 2 and December 8, 2026, for continuation of the trial.
Yahaya Bello: EFCC Witness Says Companies Received Monthly Funds from Kogi LG Accounts