On Thursday, the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja adjourned the legal proceedings between Ali Bello and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to February 5 and 6.
The case, identified as FHC/ABJ/CR/550/2022: FRN v. Ali Bello & Anor, proceeded before Justice J. K. Omotosho at the Federal High Court, Abuja Division.
Rotimi Oyedepo SAN, leading the prosecution, continued the examination-in-chief of the second witness, Edward Bananda.
The witness provided evidence related to financial transactions between the Kogi State Government and the Kogi State Government House Administration. He specifically addressed inflow and outflow concerning the Government House Account, involving cash withdrawals and transfers from the account.
Throughout the witness’s testimony, no transfers were indicated to the defendants, and there were no recorded cash withdrawals by them.
The witness concluded his evidence, leading to the adjournment of the proceedings to February 5 and 6, 2024, for the continuation of the hearing, focusing on the cross-examination phase.
The EFCC charged Ali Bello, who is the nephew of Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, and two other persons with 18 counts of money laundering and misappropriation involving about N3 billion in February 2023. According to the EFCC, the defendants committed the crime in 2020.
Bello and others pleaded not guilty to the 18 charges said to violate sections 18(a), 15(20)(d) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2011 as amended and punishable under Section 15(3) of the
same Act.
