The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday heard that the immediate past governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, was not directly linked to the transactions under scrutiny in his ongoing alleged money laundering trial.

The testimony came from the 10th prosecution witness, Mahmoud Abdulazeez, a staff member of Dantata and Sawoe Construction Company Limited, during proceedings before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

Abdulazeez, while being cross-examined by defence counsel Joseph Daudu, SAN, told the court that the former governor did not participate in the transaction relating to the property documents tendered before the court.

Earlier, the court admitted two disputed documents—an Irrevocable Power of Attorney and a Deed of Assignment—tendered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as Exhibits 42 and 43, respectively.

The witness identified Exhibit 42 as an Irrevocable Power of Attorney executed between Dantata and Sawoe and Azab Real Estate Limited, while Exhibit 43 was identified as a Deed of Assignment between the same parties.
During cross-examination, Abdulazeez acknowledged that Exhibit 43 did not indicate the value of the property involved in the transaction.

Responding to questions from the defence, the witness said that in his over 25 years of experience as an accountant, he had not previously encountered property transaction documents that omitted the value of the property.

“In all your 25 years, have you been in receipt of documents which do not contain the value of the property that is being sold?” Daudu asked.
“No, my lord,” the witness replied.

He further told the court that Yahaya Bello was neither involved in the preparation nor execution of the documents and that he never saw him at the company’s office during the transaction process.

According to him, the company authorised Azab Real Estate Limited to execute the documents on its behalf.

“Dantata and Sawoe gave consent and assigned Azab to execute the deed. Our directors signed on behalf of Dantata while Ali Bello signed on behalf of Azab,” he said.

In an earlier ruling, Justice Nwite held that the documents sought to be tendered by the prosecution were admissible despite objections from the defence.

The judge noted that the key issue was whether the documents complied with Sections 102, 104 and 108 of the Evidence Act 2011 governing the admissibility of public documents.

While agreeing with the defence that the documents were public documents within the meaning of the law, the court held that the prosecution tendered them merely to establish the existence of a transaction and not to prove ownership of the property.

The prosecution subsequently called its 11th witness, James Igbakule, a legal practitioner, who testified regarding a property located at Plot 1058, Cadastral Zone A08, Wuse 2 District, Abuja.

Igbakule told the court that payment for the property was made in three tranches and that he was contacted by one Shehu Bello after his client, SFC Foods Limited, indicated interest in selling the property.

He added that after the transaction was concluded, he was invited by the EFCC for questioning because his name surfaced during the investigation.

Under cross-examination, the witness also told the court that he was seeing Yahaya Bello for the first time in court and had never had any dealings with him.

The prosecution later called its 12th witness, Jemilu Abdullahi, a Bureau de Change operator, who confirmed that he had carried out transactions involving companies such as Keyless Nature Limited and Ejadams Essence Limited.

He also confirmed several cash transactions, mostly in multiples of ₦10 million, allegedly conducted by one Abba Adaudu.

Following the testimonies, the defence informed the court that it had filed an application seeking the removal of a red alert issued against the defendant prior to his appearance in court.
Daudu argued that allowing the defendant to travel without lifting the alert would amount to “giving something with one hand and taking it away with the other.”

However, prosecution counsel Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, maintained that the earlier order permitting Bello to travel abroad for 10 days beginning March 13 during Ramadan was granted for the defendant’s benefit.

Justice Nwite said he would study the arguments before ruling on the application.

The matter was subsequently adjourned to April 22, 23 and 24, and May 6 and 7 for continuation of trial.