Yahaya Bello in court over N84bn money laundering

By Mo Isa

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Thursday, 14 March 2024, dragged former Kogi State Governor, Mr Yahaya Bello before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja for alleged N84 billion money laundering offences, alongside his nephew Ali Bello, Dauda Sulaiman and Abdulsalam Hudu.

CONVERSEER learned that the EFCC is prosecuting the quartet on an amended 17-count charge of money laundering, breach of trust and misappropriation of fund to tune of N84,062,406,089.88 (Eighty-four Billion, Sixty-two Million, Four Hundred and Six Thousand, Eighty-nine Naira, Eighty-eight Kobo).

To make way for Yahaya Bello’s inclusion in the trial, prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, informed the court of an application before it for the amendment of the charges against the defendants, dated 5 February 2024, and filed the same day. He then prayed that the amended charges be read to the defendants for them to take their pleas.

The judge granted the prayer, overruling objections from A.M Aliyu SAN, and Olusegun Joolawo SAN, counsels to Ali Bello and Suleiman, first and second defendants.

Count one of the charges reads: “That you, Ali Bello, Dauda Suleiman, Yahaya Adoza Bello (still at large) and Abdulsalam Hudu (still at large), sometime in September, 2015 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, conspired amongst yourselves to convert the total sum of N80,246,470,089.88 (Eighty Billion, Two Hundred and Forty-six Million, Four Hundred and Seventy Thousand, Eighty-nine Naira, Eighty-eight Kobo), which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of the proceeds of your unlawful activity to wit: criminal breach of trust and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(b) and punishable under Section 15(3) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 as amended.”

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While ex-Governor Yahaya Bello and Hudu are still at large, Ali Bello and Suleiman, first and second defendants respectively, who were present in court “pleaded not guilty” to all the charges when they were read to them.

In continuation of the trial, Oyedepo invited fourth Prosecution Witness, PW4, Yakubu Gana, counsel to the property owner and seller of a property located in Danube Street, Maitama, Abuja which Ali Bello and Suleiman allegedly bought at the cost of N950 million on behalf of ex-governor Yahaya Bello through their lawyer, Ramalan Jibril Abdullahi.

Gana said that, “We negotiated and agreed on the sum of N950 million. Their lawyer, Ramalan Abdullahi, said his clients would prefer to pay in cash and in dollars. I had to call my client to inform him because he was not in the country at that time. My client cautioned me whether I knew the buyers, and I answered I knew their lawyer way back in secondary school.

“The lawyer and the clients invited me into their office, a Bureau De Change office at Zone 4, adjacent to Sheraton, now Abuja Continental Hotel. They then showed me dollars in ‘Ghana must go,’ but the dollars in ‘Ghana must go’ was not up to that N950 million. They said they would make it up by bringing some dollars to make it to N950 million. The transaction took us almost two weeks, and the lawyer invited me to the same BDC office for confirmation, then the money was completed in dollar equivalent,” he said.

In his testimony as fifth prosecution witness, Abdullahi told the court that though he acted as a go-between in the purchase of the property, his major assignment was to carry out due diligence on the said property which paved the way for its purchase by Ali Bello and Suleiman, his clients.

Oyedepo requested for the property’s title documents to enable him to tender them in evidence. However, Justice Omotosho ordered him to formally apply to the defendants and thereafter adjourned the matter to 28 March 2024, for continuation of trial.