In a significant development in the ongoing money laundering case against the immediate past governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, the third prosecution witness admitted on Thursday that there was no evidence of any financial transfer from the Kogi State Government or its local governments to the American International School, Abuja (AISA), where school fees were allegedly paid.
Testifying before the Federal High Court in Abuja, the witness, Nicholas Ojehomon, who serves as an internal auditor at AISA, made this revelation under cross-examination by the defendant’s counsel, Chief Joseph Daudu, SAN. Ojehomon confirmed that no wired transfer bearing the name of Yahaya Bello appeared in any of the financial documents submitted in court.
The court, presided over by Justice Emeka Nwite, also addressed an earlier objection raised by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) regarding the admissibility of a judgment from the Federal Capital Territory High Court (Suit No: FCT/HC/CV/2574/2023), which had ruled in favor of the defendant. The suit involved Mr. Ali Bello and the Incorporated Trustees of AISA over the issue of payment and refund of school fees. The EFCC had argued that the defense could not tender such a document before the prosecution closed its case.
However, Justice Nwite overruled the EFCC’s objection, stating that the argument was preemptive and that the era of relying on technicalities had passed. He emphasized that the admissibility of documents is guided by relevance and provisions of the Evidence Act, particularly Sections 102 and 104. The court ruled that the defense was within its rights to tender the document, which was then admitted as Exhibit 19.
During the cross-examination, when the defense asked Ojehomon to read specific parts of Exhibit 19, EFCC’s counsel, Olukayode Enitan, SAN, objected, arguing that the witness was not qualified to interpret a court judgment. Daudu countered that he was not seeking the witness’s legal opinion, merely a reading of the document. The judge agreed with the defense and allowed the witness to proceed.
The witness subsequently read from the judgment, which stated that there was no court order directing AISA to refund money to the EFCC, nor any declaration that the funds in question were proceeds of money laundering. It further affirmed that AISA had a legally binding contract with the Bello family for future school fee payments and that the institution could not divert those funds without a court order.
Additionally, Ojehomon admitted that Yahaya Bello’s name did not appear on the payment letter for the sum of $760,910 and confirmed that there was no record of any wired payment from the Kogi State Government or its local governments to the school.
With these revelations, the court adjourned the trial to Friday, May 9, 2025, for further proceedings.
