RismadarVoice Reporters
March 10, 2026
The trial of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Adoza Bello, over an alleged ₦110.4 billion fraud, was on Tuesday adjourned by the Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja, for continuation.
The presiding judge, Justice Maryanne Anineh, adjourned the matter till March 11 and 12, 2026, after proceedings for the day.
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 amounting to ₦110.4 billion.
At the resumed hearing, prosecution counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, informed the court that the matter was slated for the continuation of the cross-examination of the 10th Prosecution Witness (PW10), Olomotane Egoro, a compliance officer with Access Bank Plc.
The witness had earlier testified in previous proceedings, explaining how funds were allegedly moved through multiple bank accounts.
During cross-examination, defence counsel, Paul Daudu, SAN, requested that the statement of account of Fazab Business Enterprise Limited be shown to the witness.
Directing the witness to the 14th column of the statement, particularly an entry dated June 24, 2022, Daudu asked him to confirm an outflow recorded as payment for the supply of educational materials.
In response, the witness confirmed the transaction, stating that it involved the sum of ₦20 million for the supply of educational materials.
The defence counsel also drew the witness’s attention to several withdrawals reflected in the account statement and asked whether he recalled the transactions. The witness answered in the affirmative but said he could not determine the purpose of the withdrawals.
He further confirmed the transfer of ₦86 million from Fazab Business Enterprise Limited to Ejadams Essence Limited, but noted that he could not explain the reason for the payment.
When asked whether he could state why the funds were transferred, the witness replied that he was not in a position to do so.
The witness was also asked if he was aware of any business relationship between Fazab Business Enterprise Limited and Hadassah Katriel Global Enterprise, to which he responded in the negative.
However, the witness noted that most of the cash withdrawals from the account were structured to fall below ₦10 million.
When questioned on whether a Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) had been filed regarding the transactions and whether such a report had been presented before the court, the witness replied, “No, my lord.”
Following the proceedings, Justice Anineh adjourned the case to March 11 and 12, 2026, for continuation of trial.
