Alleged N110.4 Billion Fraud: Witness Reveals How Abdulsalami Hudu Made Multi-Million Naira Withdrawals from Kogi Government Account

— More Shocking Bank Transactions Unfold in Yahaya Bello’s Trial Before FCT High Court

Fresh details have emerged in the ongoing trial of former Kogi State governor, Yahaya Adoza Bello, as a witness revealed a series of multi-million naira withdrawals allegedly made from the Kogi State Government House account by one of his co-defendants, Abdulsalami Hudu.

The revelations came on Thursday, October 9, 2025, before Justice Maryanne Anineh of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Maitama, Abuja. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Bello alongside Umar Shuaibu Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu on a 16-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust and money laundering amounting to N110.4 m

The prosecution’s sixth witness, Mshelia Arhyel, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank Plc, took the stand under subpoena to provide detailed bank records of several accounts linked to the alleged fraud. These included accounts belonging to the Kogi State Government House, Macelina Njuku, Bespoque, Aleshua Solution Services, Wales Limited, Jagaya Limited, and Jimeta Enterprises, among others.

Led in evidence by Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, counsel to the EFCC, Arhyel presented a trove of bank statements and transaction details that appeared to reveal a deliberate pattern of multiple cash withdrawals below regulatory thresholds — an approach investigators believe was used to avoid detection by anti-money laundering authorities.

According to Arhyel, the Kogi State Government House account showed suspicious activity in early 2016, with multiple cheque and cash withdrawals made in favour of the third defendant, Abdulsalami Hudu.

“On January 15, 2016, there were 10 cheque withdrawals, and on January 19, 2016, there were five debit entries, all of which were in favour of Abdulsalami Hudu,” the witness told the court.

Continuing, she said,

“On February 12, 2016, there were 21 debit entries on the account. Eight of the withdrawals were N10 million each, while an additional nine were also in favour of Abdulsalami Hudu. The pattern of withdrawals continued over several weeks.”

The witness testified that on February 17 and 18, 2016, and again between February 24 and March 3, 2016, there were “various cash payments” made to Hudu. She particularly noted that on March 3, 2016, there were 37 separate transactions, all below N10 million, emphasizing that the withdrawals were consistently structured “below the threshold” — a possible indication of efforts to evade financial reporting obligations under the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act.

N757 Million Withdrawn in Two Days

Arhyel further told the court that the pattern of large, frequent cash withdrawals extended into 2018.

“On January 30 and 31, 2018, there were cheque withdrawals made by Abdulsalami Hudu, each for N10 million. On January 30, the total cash withdrawals amounted to N350 million, while on January 31, the total was N357,267,000, making a combined total of N757,267,000 withdrawn in just two days,” she stated.

The prosecution counsel, Pinheiro, described the frequency and scale of these withdrawals as “a classic example of structuring — a deliberate effort to avoid raising red flags with financial regulators.”

Dollar Transactions and More Suspicious Transfers

The witness also presented records of Aleshua Solutions Services, another account allegedly linked to the defendants. According to her testimony, on May 6, 2022, the account received a $2,500 transfer from one B.O. Rosemary Chukwuma, followed by two other transactions of $5,000 each in favour of an individual identified simply as Yau.

In addition, she disclosed large transactions from the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service (KGIRS) on December 6, 2016, totaling N202,302,740.20. Eleven separate cash withdrawals amounting to N101 million were traced to Jamiu Salawo, while on April 24, 2017, there were seven more withdrawals totaling N66 million, followed by a separate N167 million cash withdrawal.

The EFCC alleges that these cash movements formed part of a broader scheme to siphon public funds through proxies and shell companies during Bello’s administration.

Earlier in the week, on Wednesday, October 8, 2025, the prosecution presented its fifth witness (PW5), Victoria Oluwafemi, a compliance officer with Polaris Bank Plc.

Oluwafemi testified that bank statements for SFC Foods Limited and JIT Agric Limited—both under EFCC scrutiny—showed substantial inflows and transfers shortly before the end of Bello’s tenure as governor.

According to her, on December 21, 2021, the SFC Foods Limited account received N450 million in multiple credit transactions from various sources. She further stated that on December 24, 2021, eight additional transactions were credited to the account by Bello Shehu Bala.

Similarly, the JIT Agric Limited account recorded “multiple credit entries and electronic transfers” between December 23 and 24, 2021, each valued at N10 million, totaling N150 million.

The prosecution contends that these funds were moved through corporate fronts to conceal their true origin and destination.

Defence counsels J.B. Dauda, SAN, and A.M. Aliyu, SAN, representing the defendants, strongly objected to the admissibility of the bank documents tendered by the prosecution witnesses. They argued that the documents failed to meet the statutory requirements stipulated under Sections 83, 84, and 165 of the Evidence Act, which govern the admissibility of electronic and documentary evidence in Nigerian courts.

They further contended that the documents were not properly certified and lacked the necessary authentication to establish their evidential value.

However, prosecuting counsel Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, urged the court to overrule the objections, insisting that the documents were duly subpoenaed and formed part of the official records tendered in compliance with the law. He maintained that the defence’s objections were merely “an attempt to delay proceedings.”

After listening to arguments from both sides, Justice Maryanne Anineh adjourned the matter to November 12 and 13, 2025, for continuation of the trial, including the cross-examination of PW6 and the presentation of additional witnesses by the prosecution.

The EFCC has so far called six witnesses in the case, each revealing different layers of alleged financial manipulation and diversion of state resources linked to Yahaya Bello’s administration in Kogi State.

Former Governor Yahaya Bello, who governed Kogi State between 2016 and 2024, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. His legal team insists that the charges are politically motivated and part of a broader campaign to tarnish his reputation.

Nonetheless, the EFCC maintains that the case is built on forensic financial analysis, bank records, and witness testimonies pointing to systematic looting of state funds under Bello’s watch. The case, observers note, could become one of Nigeria’s most consequential corruption trials involving a former state governor since the return to democracy in 1999.