The Federal High Court in Maitama, Abuja, has declined to admit key documents sought to be tendered by the defence in the ongoing ₦80.2 billion fraud trial of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, insisting that proper procedural requirements must first be met.
Justice Emeka Nwite gave the ruling on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, during the continuation of proceedings in the case instituted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Bello is facing a 19-count charge bordering on money laundering and alleged diversion of public funds amounting to ₦80,246,470,088.88.
At the resumed hearing, EFCC counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, told the court that the matter was scheduled for the continuation of the cross-examination of the seventh prosecution witness, with three additional witnesses on standby.
The witness, Olomotane Egoro, a compliance officer with Access Bank Plc, returned to the witness box and adopted his earlier testimony. Under cross-examination by defence counsel, J.B. Daudu, SAN, Egoro confirmed that he appeared in court based on a subpoena and had earlier tendered documents admitted as Exhibits 32, 33 (1–11), and 34.
Egoro further disclosed that he had previously testified before another Federal High Court on the same set of documents, although he could not recall the exact details of the defendants involved or whether he served as the second prosecution witness in that case.
Following this revelation, the defence applied to tender Certified True Copies (CTCs) of records from the earlier proceedings. While the prosecution did not oppose the documents in principle, Pinheiro raised an objection on procedural grounds, noting that no receipts were presented to show payment for the CTCs.
He argued that without proof of payment, the documents could not be lawfully admitted, stressing that compliance with due process was mandatory.
In his ruling, Justice Nwite upheld the objection, stating that the court could only admit the documents after the defence produced receipts evidencing payment for the Certified True Copies. He emphasised that legal procedure must be strictly followed.
Defence counsel subsequently informed the court that steps were being taken to obtain the required receipts to enable proper tendering of the documents.
Cross-examination of the witness then continued, with questions focusing on several financial transactions involving entities such as Keyless Nature Limited, Fazab Oil, and an individual identified as Abba Adaudu.
Egoro confirmed that a counter cheque payment was processed at Access Bank’s Otukpo branch and acknowledged transfers of ₦200,000 and ₦8 million made to Abba Adaudu.
He also testified on inflows from local government councils, stating that ₦7,500,144.61 received from Okehi Local Government was for medical supplies, while ₦10,863,247.50 paid by Omala Local Government on June 3, 2022, was for sporting materials. Another ₦12,228,400.10 from Yagba East Local Government on June 6, 2022, was said to be for medical consumables.
According to the witness, the transactions were clearly documented and reflected legitimate descriptions in the bank records. He added that the account opening documents for Fazab Oil were not immediately available but could be retrieved if requested.
Justice Nwite adjourned the case to Thursday, February 5, 2026, for the continuation of the cross-examination.