An Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) witness on Monday refused to confirm the legality or illegality of bank entries in the N3 billion alleged money laundering trial of Ali Bello, the nephew of Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, and others, before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Femi Remigus, a compliance officer at Zenith Bank Plc, who was presented by the EFCC, said he did not know whether the associated bank transfers in the case were lawful.
Nairametrics previously reported on April 8, 2025, that Remigus tendered exhibits, including bank statements, before Justice Obiora Egwuatu, explaining how millions of naira were deposited into Korforte Concept Limited’s bank account from the accounts of various local government areas in Kogi State on different dates in 2018.
Bello is currently the Chief of Staff to Kogi State Governor Usman Dodo.
Legal Dispute
Nairametrics reports that the EFCC had, on February 8, 2023, arraigned Ali Bello, Abba Daudu, Yakubu Siyaka Adabenege, Iyada Sadat, and Rashida Bello (at large) on 18 counts of criminal misappropriation and money laundering, amounting to N3,081,804,654.00.
Count one of the charges reads:
“That you, ALI BELLO, ABBA DAUDU, YAKUBU SIYAKA ADABENEGE, IYADA SADAT, RASHIDA BELLO (at large), sometime in June 2020, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, procured E-Traders International Limited to retain the aggregate sum of N3,081,804,654.00 (Three Billion, Eighty-One Million, Eight Hundred and Four Thousand, Six Hundred and Fifty-Four Naira), which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of proceeds of unlawful activity, to wit: criminal misappropriation, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to sections 18(a), 15(2)(d) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2011 (as amended), and punishable under section 15(3) of the same Act.”
The defendants pleaded “not guilty” to all the charges, paving the way for trial.
At the proceedings in April, EFCC counsel Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN) led Remigus in evidence.
The witness stated that on specific dates, money was transferred from the said account into some of the defendants’ accounts, especially Daudu’s.
He added that before the inflows, the amount in Korforte Concept’s account was only “N7,275.”
According to him, on the date of the inflows, N105 million was transferred to Abba Daudu and others.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu admitted the exhibits into evidence, noting that their probative value would be determined at the judgment stage.
The court then fixed May 5, 19, 20, and 21 for the continuation of the trial.
What Transpired in Court
At the resumed sitting, counsel for some of the defendants, Nureini Jimoh (SAN), asked the compliance officer whether, after forwarding certain account statements to the EFCC, he did anything further with the Commission in relation to the matter.
- The witness responded in the affirmative, saying that in 2023, the bank provided the EFCC with a hard copy of the account statement dated April 14, 2023.
- He admitted that even after the EFCC filed the matter, he continued submitting documents to the Commission regarding the case.
- The lawyer asked the witness to confirm whether there were any transfers to or from the associated bank accounts by Abba Daudu, Yakubu Siyaka Adabenege, Iyada Sadat, or Rashida Bello on January 24 and 25, 2022.
“As per entries, I did not see their names from January 24 to January 25, 2022,” the witness responded.
- The witness told the judge that, as a compliance officer, he knows his bank is a law-abiding financial institution.
“You know that all the inflows and outflows in the bank accounts are lawful—that is why your bank dealt with them or allowed them?” the senior lawyer asked.
“I did not investigate the customer to know if the transfers were lawful or unlawful,” the bank staff replied.
- The lawyer pressed further, asking the witness to confirm to the court that the entries in the bank accounts were “not lawful, and your bank allowed them.”
“I don’t know if the entries are lawful or not lawful,” the witness replied.
After his testimony, the compliance officer was discharged from the witness box.
Justice Egwuatu then adjourned the case to May 19, 20, and 21 for continuation of the trial.
What You Should Know
The EFCC is prosecuting defendant Ali Bello in another similar case.
The sister case is before Justice James Omotosho.
