Yahaya Bello’s Alleged N80.2bn Fraud: Witness Details How N1.09bn Vanished from Kogi Govt Account in Three Days

A prosecution witness on Thursday detailed before the Federal High Court in Abuja how over N1.09 billion was mysteriously withdrawn from the Kogi State Government House Administration Account within a span of just three days.

Testifying before Justice Emeka Nwite, Mashelia Arhyel Dada, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank’s Maitama branch, appeared as Prosecution Witness Four (PW4) in the ongoing trial of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Adoza Bello.

Led in evidence by prosecuting counsel Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, Dada narrated a series of large, suspicious withdrawals made from the government account between 2016 and 2023, in alleged violation of banking regulations and anti-corruption safeguards.

According to Dada, the transactions were detailed in seven sets of documents submitted in response to a subpoena issued to Zenith Bank’s Managing Director. The court admitted the subpoena as Exhibit 20, while related account records and documentation covering both individual and corporate entities were admitted as Exhibits 21 to 24C.

Among the scrutinized accounts were those belonging to Adamu Jagafa Ishaya, Whales Oil and Gas, Jimeda Properties Nigeria Ltd, Alyeshua Solutions, and the Kogi State Government House Administration Account.

Dada’s testimony zeroed in on the Government House account, where records revealed consistent cash withdrawals in violation of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) cashless policy, which capped corporate and government withdrawals at N5 million. Transactions beyond that limit attracted heavy surcharges.

Between January 30 and February 1, 2018, the sum of N697,267,000 was withdrawn in N10 million tranches via cheques issued to one Abdulsalami Hudu. On February 2, 2018, an additional N99,573,000 was withdrawn in similar fashion, bringing the total withdrawn in just three days to N1.096 billion.

In addition, on February 1, 2018, a direct transfer of N3,325,000 was made to Ali Bello from the same account.

The pattern reportedly continued in the years that followed. Dada disclosed that on May 6, 11, and 19, 2022, the Government House account received N100 million each day from the Kogi State Statutory Revenue Account — each immediately followed by N10 million cheque withdrawals, mostly by Hudu and another individual, Alhassan Omakoji.

Referencing pages 395 to 401 of the account statement, Dada affirmed that nearly every credit inflow was followed by immediate cheque-based debits to the same individuals — often on the same day.

One particularly glaring instance occurred on September 7, 2023, when N110 million was withdrawn in eleven separate N10 million cash transactions — breaching the legal limit and incurring N4.75 million in CBN surcharges for that day alone.

Earlier, on January 20, 2018, the account received ten separate credits from the Kogi State Statutory Account, totaling over N697 million, which were again followed by a spree of cheque withdrawals issued to Hudu and others. On January 31, 2018, Hudu allegedly withdrew N347,267,000 through 36 separate transactions.

Evidence presented in court included the account opening documents (pages 2–23 of Exhibit 22A) and the full bank statement (pages 24–413), with the earliest recorded transaction dated February 12, 2016.

Dada also explained the layout of the statements, detailing transaction dates, value dates, descriptions, debit and credit columns, and balances — as well as the differences between NEFT and NIP transfers.

The trial, which centers on alleged fraudulent activities amounting to N80.2 billion, continues as the EFCC intensifies its efforts to expose what it describes as a pattern of systemic abuse of public funds during Yahaya Bello’s tenure.