Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Friday adjourned proceedings in the alleged money laundering trial of former Kogi State governor Yahaya Bello to May 6 and 7, 2026, for the continuation of cross-examination of the 12th prosecution witness.
The witness, Abdullahi Jamilu, while testifying, confirmed that he made a statement to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on May 10, 2022, which was shown to him in court to refresh his memory. Under cross-examination by defence counsel, Joseph Daudu (SAN), he stated that it was the only statement he made to the commission regarding the matter.
Jamilu admitted that references to companies such as Wales Oil and Gas, Forza Oil and Gas, and Aleshua Services were not contained in Exhibit 46, his earlier statement. He also noted that names listed in Exhibit 13 (pages 1–13) did not appear in Exhibit 46 and confirmed that he was not the maker of Exhibit 13.
Earlier, Justice Nwite had dismissed an objection by the defence to the EFCC’s attempt to re-tender Exhibit 46, describing the objection as speculative and misconceived.
The witness further recalled giving similar testimony in a related case before Justice Egwuatu of the Federal High Court, although he could not remember his exact witness number in that proceeding. He, however, confirmed that the defendants in the earlier case included Ali Bello, Abah Adaudu, Yakubu Siyaka Adabenege, and Iyadi Sadat.
During the proceedings, the defence tendered additional documents, which were admitted as Exhibit 47 without objection. Upon reviewing the exhibit, Jamilu acknowledged that the transactions he described in the earlier case were consistent with those under consideration in the present trial.
He explained that he relied on colleagues to facilitate certain dollar transactions because his personal accounts could not handle them directly. He also stated that the names of the companies—Wales Oil and Gas, Forza Oil and Gas, and Aleshua Services—were absent from his EFCC statement because he was neither asked about them nor recalled them at the time.
In his earlier examination-in-chief by EFCC counsel, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), the witness said he delivered cash in US dollars to a police officer identified as Ali on behalf of Abah Adaudu.
He added that the companies mentioned in court were owned by his colleagues at the market and that he often sourced additional dollars from them when he lacked sufficient funds to execute transactions, agreeing on exchange rates beforehand.
Jamilu also testified that instructions to transfer funds to the American International School were given by Adaudu, who approached him alongside an associate whose name he could not recall. He confirmed that the transfers were successfully completed and that he subsequently forwarded telex confirmations (transfer receipts) to Adaudu.
When shown documents in Exhibit 13 (pages 1–14), the witness confirmed they were telex advices and payment receipts for the school fees, but noted that pages 13 and 14 were not part of the documents he originally submitted.
He further identified the names of the students on whose behalf the payments were made.
Following the proceedings, Justice Nwite adjourned the case to May 6 and 7, 2026, for the continuation of cross-examination of the 12th prosecution witness.
