EFCC witness disowns role as account officer for Kogi govt house account

…says Abdulsalam Hudu was authorised signatory

The sixth prosecution witness in the trial of Yahaya Bello, former Kogi State governor, Mshelia Arhyel Bata, told the Federal Capital Territory High Court on Thursday that he was not the account officer for the Kogi State Government House Administration account.

Bata, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank Plc, said during cross-examination by Joseph Daudu (SAN), Bello’s counsel, that although the account was domiciled in the bank’s Lokoja branch, he never worked there.

He also stated that he was not the maker of the documents tendered as exhibits by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

According to him, Abdulsalam Hudu, whose name appeared on several transactions presented in court, was an authorised signatory to the account and was listed on the account mandate.

When asked whether every bank account has a branch manager and a relationship manager, Bata confirmed this and explained that the relationship manager usually has more knowledge of the account’s operations than a compliance officer.

Referring to Exhibit S2, he said the account was opened in 2005, with Chris A. Enofola, Onekutu Daniel M., and Abdulsalami Hudu as the initial signatories.

He added that other signatories were later introduced: Oricha Umoru Shaibu in 2016, Ahmed Idris in 2018, and Alhassan Omakoji in 2019.

The witness confirmed that the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) withdrawal limit for government accounts was ₦10 million and ₦500,000 for individual accounts, and that the transactions followed these limits.

Bata stated that the ₦10 million limit applied to all authorised signatories and that anyone operating the account under the mandate was recognised as a representative of the Kogi State Government House Administration.

He maintained that Hudu’s name on the account mandate showed he was authorised to carry out transactions.

This came in relation to several ₦10 million transactions linked to Hudu.

During questioning, Daudu (SAN) asked the witness to name the beneficiaries of 19 separate ₦10 million withdrawals made on December 15, 2017, and to confirm the names used in each transaction.

He noted that three variations of Hudu’s name appeared in the records and asked how the bank could confirm that the withdrawals were made by the same person, since banks require name consistency.

Read also: ₦110bn fraud trial: Witness details how Yahaya Bello’s aide withdrew ₦1bn in four days

Prosecuting counsel, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), objected, arguing that the question was speculative and beyond the witness’s personal knowledge.

Daudu, however, maintained that the question was relevant since the witness had admitted the name variations, and that the withdrawal documents would reveal the person’s identity.

Bata replied that he could not explain the differences in the names without reviewing the account’s introductory documents.

In an earlier session, he had confirmed that the account recorded several ₦10 million transactions, all within the CBN’s approved limits.

Justice Maryann Anenih adjourned the case to January 15–16, February 10–11, and March 10–12, 2026, for continuation of trial.