Abuja: At the ongoing trial of former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello and two others, the sixth prosecution witness (PW6) on Wednesday testified that an agency official received over ₦1 billion through four separate transactions of ₦250 million each.
Bello is being prosecuted before Justice Maryanne Anenih of the FCT High Court, Maitama, alongside Umar Shuaibu Oricha and Abdulsalam Hudu by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The EFCC is prosecuting them in a suit marked FCT/HC/CR/778/24, on a 16-count charge bordering on breach of trust.
They were alleged to have committed the criminal breach of trust in respect of the sum of N110, 446,470,089, among others.
Bello and his co-defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge preferred against them.
At the resumed hearing in the matter on Wednesday, the PW6, Mshelia Arhyel Bata, a Compliance Officer with Zenith Bank Plc, narrated how Hudu made various cash withdrawals running into billions of Naira from the Kogi State Government House account on different dates between 2016 and 2018.
Led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, Bata told the court that the third defendant withdrew the sum of N110,446,470,089 between January 30 and February 2, 2018, from the account.
According to him, “Between Jan. 30 and Feb. 2, 2018, the total cash withdrawals by Abdulsalam Hudu were N1,096,444,300 in four days.”
Reading from the Government House’s statement of account, which was earlier tendered and marked as an exhibit, the PW6 provided a breakdown of the four-day withdrawal.
He informed the court that Hudu withdrew the sums of N350 million on January 30, 2018, and N347,267,000 on January 31, 2018.
He added that the third defendant withdrew N300 million and N99,177,300 on February 1 and February 2, 2018, respectively.
The witness had earlier provided various amounts of cash withdrawn by Hudu, including N200 million, which was withdrawn through 21 separate withdrawals on February 12, 2016.
He also told the court that the third defendant made a total of 40 withdrawals on Dec. 21, 2016.
He added that Hudu made 21 withdrawals totalling N203,240,000 on May 9, 2017, among other multiple withdrawals he (Hudu) made.
“I can confirm numerous cash withdrawals made by Absulsalam Hudu, which are in a consistent pattern,” Bata told the court.
According to him, there were other withdrawals made by one Umar Comfort Olufunke from the account in November 2016, December 2016, and from January to April 2017.
Following the request of adjournment made by counsel for Bello and Oricha, Abdullahi Yahaya SAN, Justice Anenih adjourned until Thursday for cross-examination of PW6 by the defence.