A prosecution witness, Segun Adeleke, on Monday, told the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court that the name of the former Kogi governor, Yahaya Bello, was not on the documents of the two properties purchased from EFAB Properties Ltd.
Mr Adeleke, the company’s general manager, told Justice Emeka Nwite while being cross-examined by the former governor’s lawyer, Joseph Daudu (SAN).
The witness, who was the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)’s first prosecution witness (PW-1), told the court that Mr Bello did not appear throughout the period of the transactions.
Earlier, EFCC counsel Kemi Pinheiro (SAN) told the court that the matter was scheduled for trial and that their witnesses were present.
While being led in evidence, Mr Adeleke was asked to tell the court what he knew about a property at No 1, Ikogosi Road, Maitama and another in Gwarinpa.
Giving an account of what transpired, he said sometime in 2020, his chairman, Fabian Nwora, introduced him to a young man called Shehu Bello and that they discussed the purchase of the property.
“We had a discussion concerning the purchase of the property in question. And he told me that the young man would be coming back to make payment for the property at an agreed price of N550 million,” he said.
When asked if he had seen Mr Shehu since that day, he said, “I saw him three times; the first time was during the introduction, the second time for payment, and the third time was when he brought a legal document for the execution of the EFAB property.”
The EFCC lawyer then mentioned another property at 5th Avenue in Gwarinpa and told the witness to tell the court what he knew about it.
Responding, the PW-1 said the property was purchased by one Nuhu Mohammed for N70 million and was paid for through a bank transfer.
He was asked if he remembered which bank the money came from, but he responded negatively.
On cross-examination, the defendant’s counsel, Mr Daudu, asked if the witness’ actions were purely based on the instructions of his chairman, and he responded in the affirmative.
Mr Daudu further asked whether it was correct to say he did not initiate any discussion with Mr Shehu on his own, to which he also answered, “Yes.”
When asked if Mr Bello signed the documents for the transaction in his presence, the witness said, “He did not, my lord.”
Mr Daudu asked, “Throughout this transaction, did you set eyes on the defendant (ex-governor)?”
“Not at any time in the course of this transaction,” the witness responded.
“Does his name appear anywhere on the documents you said are with EFCC to the best of your recollection?” the senior lawyer further asked.
“No, my lord,” Mr Adeleke responded.
When Mr Daudu asked the witness if he had seen Mr Shehu in court since the morning before the proceeding began, he said, “My lord, in this courtroom, I did not see him.”
However, when Mr Pinheiro said they had another witness subpoenaed to testify in court, Mr Daudu objected that they were being taken by surprise, arguing that the statements of the subpoenaed witness had not been made available to them.
The defence lawyer, however, told the court that he would not object to the EFCC calling the second witness in order not to stall the trial.
The second prosecution witness (PW-2), who identified herself as Abimbola Williams, a compliance officer with the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, confirmed that her office received a subpoenaed letter.
She told the court that the subpoena was with her.
When Mr Pinheiro sought to tender the subpoena letter, Mr Daudu did not oppose the application, and Mr Nwite marked it as “Exhibit 1.”
The witness read out parts of the documents the subpoena requested from the bank, which include the statements of account of the Kogi State government house from January 1, 2016, to January 31, 2024.
This also included the statements of account of Maselina Njoku from January 1 to December 31, 2022.
The documents were admitted in evidence and marked as exhibits by the court, including the account opening packages of American International School and the school’s statements of accounts from September 1 to September 30, 2020.
Mr Nwite adjourned the matter until March 6 and March 7 for continuation of trial.
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