A prosecution witness in the ongoing alleged money laundering trial involving the immediate past governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, and two others, yesterday told the Federal High Court in Abuja that the former governor was not involved in the purchase of five properties being examined in the case.

The 17th witness called by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Shehu Bala, made the disclosure under cross-examination by counsel to the defendant, Paul Daudu (SAN).

The witness also stated that the second defendant, Umar Shuaib Oricha, did not participate in the transactions, adding that one Dr Farouk Bello acted as the agent in the property purchases.

Bala, a commodity trader, said he met Ali Bello about 14 years ago during his business dealings, particularly in the buying and selling of agricultural commodities. He told the court that he was not related to Ali Bello or Farouk Bello and confirmed that he was not from Kogi State.

“I knew Ali Bello in the course of my business, which is commodity trading. We have done quite a few businesses, including buying grains from the North and selling them,” he said.

The witness also told the court that he was aware that title documents relating to some of the properties, including deeds of assignment and powers of attorney, were returned to Efab Estate by Farouk Bello.

He said the documents were later brought back to him by someone who wanted to sell the property, but he could not confirm whether the person was Farouk Bello’s son.

Meanwhile, the 18th prosecution witness, Philip Kuma, a consultant with the Kogi State Board of Internal Revenue, told the court that funds paid into his company’s account represented legitimate commissions for services rendered to the revenue agency.

Kuma, an IT expert and owner of Bespoke Business Solutions and Bespoke Global Concept, said his company was engaged as lead consultant by the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service.

Meanwhile, a prosecution witness said he paid between 50 and 60 per cent of the commissions earned by his company from consultancy services rendered to the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service (KSIRS) to some officials of the agency.

The witness, who testified as EFCC’s 18th prosecution witness, disclosed this before Justice Maryanne Anineh while being led in evidence by the Commission’s lead counsel, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN).