The Federal High Court in Abuja has postponed the trial of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, on charges of money laundering filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) until January 29, 2026.
The case involves allegations that Bello participated in the diversion and laundering of N80.2 billion during his time in office between 2016 and 2024.
At the resumed hearing, the seventh prosecution witness, Olomotame Egoro, who serves as a compliance officer with Access Bank, completed his testimony and was released after being questioned about the bank statements related to the case.
The EFCC’s lead counsel, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), sought to tender several bank documents marked as Exhibits 33 (1–11) and 34 through the witness. However, Bello’s lawyer, Abdullahi Yahaya (SAN), objected, arguing that the documents had not been presented to the defendant beforehand and that the certificate of identification was signed by a person other than the testifying witness.
The prosecution maintained that while the certificate came from a different officer, the transaction records themselves were valid and unchanged.
After a brief recess, the witness clarified details of the Kogi State Government House Administration’s account statement, which covered transactions from December 2018 to August 2021. He explained the nature of the entries and identified the funds linked to the transactions under scrutiny.
With the witness discharged, the court set January 29, 2026, for the continuation of proceedings in the high-profile money laundering case.