EFCC Opens Case Against Ex-Kogi Governor Yahaya Bello in N80 Billion Money Laundering Tria
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has kicked off its case against Yahaya Bello, the former governor of Kogi State, who is facing a 19-count charge over alleged money laundering amounting to N80 billion.
At the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday, the prosecution, led by Kemi Pinheiro, called its first witness, Segun Adeleke, a general manager at Efab Properties Limited.
Adeleke testified about two high-profile properties allegedly linked to the case—one in Maitama, Abuja, and another in Gwarinpa.
According to him, in 2020, Fabian Nwora, chairman of Efab Properties, introduced him to Shehu Bello, who expressed interest in purchasing the Maitama property for N550 million.
“We had a discussion concerning the purchase of the property, and I was informed that the young man would be making payment at the agreed price of N550 million,” Adeleke told the court.
He recalled meeting Bello three times—first for an introduction, then for payment, and finally for the execution of property documents.
For the Gwarinpa property, Adeleke disclosed that Nuhu Mohammed purchased it for N70 million, with payment made via bank transfer.
However, during cross-examination by Joseph Daudu, Bello’s defence lawyer, Adeleke admitted that he was acting solely on instructions from his chairman and had no direct transactions with Shehu Bello.
When asked if he saw Yahaya Bello during the transactions or if the former governor’s name appeared on any of the documents in EFCC’s possession, Adeleke responded “No” to both questions.
The EFCC then called a second witness, Williams Abimbola, a compliance officer at United Bank for Africa (UBA), who was subpoenaed to provide crucial financial records.
Abimbola presented documents detailing multiple financial transactions, including Kogi State Government House statement of account (2016–2024), Maselina Njoku’s statement of account (2022), American International School account records (2020)
The financial documents are expected to play a pivotal role in linking the alleged money laundering scheme to the former governor.
