A Federal High Court in Abuja has ruled against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in its attempt to cross-examine its own witness in the ongoing money laundering case involving former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello.
Presiding Judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, delivered the ruling on Monday, stating that the EFCC’s request to cross-examine its third prosecution witness was not supported by legal provisions. The judge emphasized that unless a witness is declared hostile, the prosecution has no grounds to cross-examine them.
“The argument of the learned counsel to the prosecution is misconceived,” the judge said. “This court is not denying the prosecution the opportunity to re-examine the witness but must limit its questions to pages 1, 14, and 15 of Exhibit 19.”
The EFCC’s counsel, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), subsequently conducted a brief re-examination and withdrew a previous question before presenting three additional witnesses.
One of them, Mshelia Arhyel Bata, a compliance officer from Zenith Bank, testified about bank statements submitted in the case. He confirmed that all statements included Certificates of Identification as required by law. The court admitted seven sets of bank documents, including those of the Kogi State Government House Administration, into evidence.
Bata also explained withdrawal thresholds prior to the implementation of the cashless policy, noting that government withdrawals were limited to N10 million per cheque transaction. Referencing a May 23, 2016, transaction under the name Abdulsalami Hudu, the witness confirmed that nine separate N10 million cash withdrawals were made on that date alone.
Further probing led to revelations about ten credit entries on January 30, 2018, totaling N1.092 billion. Bata later confirmed that total cash withdrawals on record amounted to N1.968 billion, spread across different dates.
When the prosecution attempted to question the purpose of the withdrawals, the defense objected, asserting that the funds were allocated for security votes. Bata then provided a breakdown of inflows and outflows between May 2 and May 19, 2018.
Justice Nwite adjourned the trial to June 27, 2025, for the cross-examination of the witness by the defense counsel.
