The Third Prosecution Witness, PW3, Nicholas
Ojehomon in the trial of a former Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, on
Thursday, March 6, 2026, narrated before Justice Emeka Nwite of the
Federal High Court, Abuja, how the defendant paid his children's
school fees in dollars and in advance until their graduation.
The witness, an internal auditor in the American
International School, Abuja , AISA, who stated that though he didn’t know
Yahaya Bello in person, said he was aware that he was a parent to children
enrolled in the school.
“I did not know the defendant personally, but I am
aware that he is a parent of children enrolled in our school,” he said. Upon
reviewing the school’s admission letters, the
witness identified the defendant’s children as Zayan Bello, Zara
Bello, Farid Bello, Na’ima Bello, and Nana Fatima Bello. He also confirmed that
each child was admitted in different academic years. His examination
of Exhibit 12, which is the agreement for prepaid tuition fees,
revealed that Ali Bello, Yahaya Bello’s cousin had contacted the school in
2021 to pay the children’s fees in advance until their graduation.
Prosecution counsel, Kemi Pinheiro
SAN tendered a set of documents in evidence that
included certified copies of the AISA admission letters to the
defendant’s children, a contractual agreement for prepaid tuition until
graduation, teller copies of payments, email correspondences between Ali Bello,
Yahaya Bello’s cousin and the school, as well as statements of account
from TD Bank USA and the American International School. There was no objection
from the defence counsel, and the court admitted the documents as exhibits.
When asked about the payments made, the witness
confirmed that significant sums were paid for each child. According to
him, Farid Bello’s fees amounted to $90,074, Zara Bello’s to $87,470,
Na’ima Bello’s to $26,241, and Nana Bello’s to $18,707.
The prosecution also presented Exhibit 17, a letter
from the American International School to the EFCC requesting a valid account
number for the refund of the fees. The document indicated two
amounts: $845,082.84 and $750,910.84, with the latter sum earmarked for a
refund to the EFCC. Exhibit 18, which is a letter from the EFCC to
AISA, showed that the refund was to be made in a Central
Bank of Nigeria (CBN) account.
Earlier, the Second Prosecution Witness,
PW2, Williams Abimbola, a compliance officer with the United Bank for
Africa (UBA), who testified under subpoena presented documents,
including a statement of account belonging to the Kogi State Government House.
The statement, marked as Exhibit 8, showed a total credit of N53.56 billion and
a total debit of N53.55 billion between January 2019 and December 2020.
During cross-examination, the PW2 confirmed
that several N10 million withdrawals were made in favour of one Abdulsalam Hudu
on December 12, 2018. She further stated that the transactions were
done using cheques, processed over the counter.
The prosecution counsel, during
re-examination of PW2, clarified that Exhibit 2P1, being the
certificate of compliance, was signed on behalf of Edward
Bamanga, being the relevant bank official, thus confirming
the authenticity of the financial documents. “All records presented are
verifiable and were duly obtained in line with legal procedures,” the
prosecution counsel stated.
The defence counsel J.B. Daudu,
SAN, bickered that the witness as an Abuja-based compliance
officer of UBA could scrutinize an account, domiciled in
Lokoja Branch of her bank.
Justice Nwite adjourned the matter
till Friday, March 7, 2025 for continuation of trial.
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