A prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Adoza Bello, on Thursday, June 26, 2025, revealed startling details of how over ₦1 billion was withdrawn within just three days from the Kogi State Government House Administration Account.
Mashelia Arhyel Dada, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank’s Maitama branch in Abuja, testified before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Maitama, as the fourth prosecution witness (PW4).
Dada appeared under a subpoena issued to the bank’s Managing Director and was led in evidence by the lead prosecuting counsel, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN).
Dada told the court that he had brought with him seven sets of documents in compliance with the court’s order, detailing suspicious transactions from several accounts, including those of private individuals and corporate entities.
Notably, he focused on the Kogi State Government House Administration Account, which was used for massive cash withdrawals over several years.
According to him, between January 30 and February 1, 2018, the account saw a flurry of cash withdrawals totalling ₦697,267,000.
These, according to the Zenith Bank official, were carried out in ₦10 million tranches using cheques issued in the name of one Abdulsalami Hudu.
While revealing that on February 2, 2018, a further ₦99,573,000 was withdrawn, also in ₦10 million lots, bringing the total to ₦1,096,830,000 withdrawn over a three-day period, Dada equally confirmed a ₦3.3 million transfer to one Ali Bello from the same account on February 1, 2018, suggesting a coordinated movement of funds.
Pinheiro (SAN) maintained that such withdrawals violated the Central Bank of Nigeria’s cashless policy in place at the time, which capped cash withdrawals at ₦500,000 for individuals and ₦5,000,000 for corporate or government accounts.
Dada affirmed that these violations were not isolated. The witness stated that on September 7, 2023, for example, the account processed 11 separate cash withdrawals of ₦10 million each, ₦110 million in a single day, resulting in ₦4.75 million in surcharge fees due to exceeding the withdrawal limits.
In another revealing episode, Dada testified that on January 20, 2018, ten credit entries totalling over ₦697 million were made into the Kogi State Government House account from the State’s Statutory Revenue Account.
These funds, he said, were immediately followed by a series of withdrawals issued to the same group of individuals, especially Hudu, who allegedly collected ₦347,267,000 in 36 tranches on January 31 alone.
Further scrutiny showed that similar patterns of suspicious inflows and withdrawals persisted between 2016 and 2023, often involving the same individuals.
The witness also referenced account activities on May 6, 11, and 19 of 2022, during which ₦100 million was credited each day from the State Statutory Account and quickly withdrawn in cash.
The prosecution tendered several documents as evidence, including account opening forms and statements spanning from 2016 to 2023.
The judge admitted all the exhibits, designated as Exhibits 20 through 24C, despite earlier objections from the defence counsel, J.B. Daudu (SAN), who reserved his arguments for a later date.
Dada further explained the account statement’s layout and described various transaction methods, such as NEFT and NIP transfers, all of which pointed to structured withdrawals aimed at circumventing financial regulations.
Justice Nwite adjourned the matter to Friday, June 27, 2025, for cross-examination and continuation of the trial.
Yahaya Bello is facing prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged corruption, abuse of office, and money laundering during his tenure as Kogi State Governor.
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