How N1.09bn disappeared from Kogi govt’s account in 3 days – Banker tells court

A compliance officer from Zenith Bank testified on Thursday, June 26, 2025, before Justice Emeka Nwite at the Federal High Court in Maitama, Abuja, revealing how ₦1,096,830,000 was withdrawn from the Kogi State Government House Administration Account over a span of three days.

The testimony came during the ongoing alleged fraud trial of former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Adoza Bello.

The witness, Mashelia Dada, appeared under subpoena as the fourth prosecution witness and detailed a pattern of substantial cash withdrawals allegedly carried out between 2016 and 2023.

Led in evidence by Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Kemi Pinheiro, the witness said the bank submitted seven sets of documents in response to the court order, with the subpoenaed documents accepted as Exhibit 20. Additional documents relating to account holders and affiliated entities were admitted as Exhibits 21 to 24C.

According to a statement from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the accounts scrutinised included those held by Adamu Jagafa Ishaya, Whales Oil and Gas, Jimeda Properties Nigeria Limited, Alyeshua Solutions, and notably, the Administration Account of the Kogi State Government House.

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The prosecution drew the court’s attention to repeated cash withdrawals from this government account, noting they contravened the Central Bank of Nigeria’s cashless policy. Dada stated that CBN regulations at the time capped withdrawals at ₦500,000 for individuals and ₦5,000,000 for corporate bodies, with penalties for exceeding the limits.

Dada testified that between January 30 and February 1, 2018, ₦697,267,000 was withdrawn through cheque payments issued in the name of Abdulsalami Hudu. An additional ₦99,573,000 was withdrawn on February 2, 2018, also in large tranches. These withdrawals brought the total to over ₦1.09 billion within just three days.

On February 1, 2018, a transfer of ₦3,325,000 was also made from the same government account to one Ali Bello.

The witness further testified that similar activity continued in later years. On May 6, 11, and 19 of 2022, the account received ₦100 million on each occasion from the Kogi State Statutory Revenue Account. These credits were followed by a series of ₦10 million cash withdrawals, primarily by Abdulsalami Hudu and another individual, Alhassan Omakoji.

Dada told the court that account statements showed a consistent trend where nearly every deposit was quickly followed by cheque-based cash withdrawals to the same individuals, sometimes on the same day.

He also disclosed that on September 7, 2023, the account logged 11 separate cash withdrawals of ₦10 million each. These exceeded the regulatory limit, attracting a surcharge of ₦500,000 per transaction, totalling ₦4,750,000 in surcharges that day.

In an earlier case, dated January 20, 2018, the same account received ten separate credits from the Kogi Statutory Account, amounting to over ₦697 million. This was followed by multiple withdrawals, again in ₦10 million increments, with Hudu reportedly receiving ₦347,267,000 on January 31 alone via 36 transactions.

Further evidence was presented by Pinheiro, who submitted account opening documents and a full bank statement covering pages 2 to 413 of Exhibit 22A, dating back to February 12, 2016. Dada described how to read the statement, explaining the layout and various transaction types like NEFT and NIP.

Although the defence, represented by J.B. Daudu, SAN, raised preliminary objections to the admissibility of certain exhibits, they opted to defer arguments. Justice Nwite admitted all the documents into evidence.

The trial was adjourned until Friday, June 27, 2025, for cross-examination and further proceedings.