Premium Times and Naija News reported Tuesday that EFCC investigator John Justice described some Kogi local-government transfers as cash withdrawals while testifying in former Kogi State Gov. Yahaya Bello’s Abuja trial.
Justice was the 20th prosecution witness before the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja, the outlets reported. He said investigators requested surveillance footage from Access Bank and Zenith Bank after reviewing a large number of withdrawals. The CCTV review reportedly showed customers leaving without cash, while Justice described paperwork recording money as leaving one account and being credited to another.
Justice also said Kogi local governments provided most monthly inflows to the companies’ accounts, the outlets reported. Neither account of the testimony gave an amount or date range for those transfers.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says Bello, Umar Shuaibu Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu face a 16-count case involving 110.4 billion naira and allegations of criminal breach of trust and money laundering. That figure covers the broader prosecution; no total was reported for the transactions Justice described.
TransparencIT’s case tracker records that all three pleaded not guilty at arraignment, while Premium Times reported that the defendants deny the allegations. Premium Times also reported that the EFCC alleges diversion during Bello’s tenure as governor, from January 2016 to January 2024.
The hearing schedule differed across reports: Premium Times listed Nov. 24, while Naija News also listed Dec. 2 and Dec. 8, 2026.
