For the second time, an EFCC witness testifies that Yahaya Bello is not associated with newly submitted evidence

On Monday, a prosecution witness, Mahmoud Abdulazeez, testified that former Governor Yahaya Bello's name was not linked to any transactions in the newly submitted documents in the ongoing money laundering trial.

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Abdulazeez, an employee of Dantata and Sawoe Construction Company Limited, made this statement while being cross-examined by defense lawyer Joseph Daudu, SAN, in the Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Emeka Nwite.

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It is worth noting that Abdulazeez, the 10th prosecution witness, had previously identified two documents that the EFCC sought to submit as evidence during the evidence-in-chief on the last adjourned date, which included an Irrevocable Power of Attorney and a Deed of Assignment.

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However, Daudu had raised an objection to the admissibility of these documents, prompting Justice Nwite to adjourn the case for a ruling after hearing arguments from both parties.

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Justice Nwite ultimately ruled that the documents were admissible and marked them as Exhibits 42 and 43, respectively, during the resumed trial.

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While being led in evidence by Chukwudi Enebeli, SAN, Abdulazeez identified Exhibits 42 and 43, and during his cross-examination by Daudu, he admitted that Exhibit 43 did not specify the value of the property in question.

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Abdulazeez, who has over 25 years of experience as an accountant, stated that he had never received documents that did not contain the value of the property being sold, in response to Daudu's question.

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The witness also testified that former Governor Yahaya Bello was neither a participant nor present during the transaction's perfection, and that Dantata and Sawoe had given consent and assigned Azbar to execute the deed.

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Earlier, Justice Nwite had ruled on the admissibility of the documents sought to be tendered by the EFCC, which Daudu had objected to, stating that the central question was whether the documents were admissible in accordance with the Evidence Act.

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The judge agreed with Daudu that the documents were public documents but noted that the prosecution had argued they were for a criminal trial, not a civil case, and were intended to establish the existence of a transaction.

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The prosecution then called its 11th witness, James Igbakuleh, who testified about a property on Plot 1058, Cadastral Zone A08, Wuse 2 District, Abuja, stating that the payment was made in three tranches.

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Igbakuleh, a legal practitioner, added that one Shehu Bello had contacted him after his client, SFC Foods Limited, approached him to sell the property, and that he was later invited by the EFCC for questioning.

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During cross-examination, Igbakuleh stated that he was seeing former Governor Yahaya Bello for the first time and had never done business with him.

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The EFCC also called its 12th witness, Jemilu Abdullahi, a Bureau De Change operator, who confirmed knowing some of the companies mentioned during the trial and having transactions with Keyless Nature Limited and Ejadams Essence Limited.

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Abdullahi also confirmed transactions involving one Abba Adaudu in multiples of N10 million.

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After a brief recess, Daudu informed the court that he had filed an application to remove the red alert issued before former Governor Bello's court appearance.

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Daudu argued that granting the relief for his client to travel without removing the red notice would be contradictory, in response to Pinheiro's observation that their application to vacate the earlier order was for the defendant's benefit.

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Justice Nwite stated that he would need to carefully consider the issues before making a ruling, after which the parties would adopt their processes.

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The judge adjourned the matter until April 22, 23, and 24, and May 6 and 7, for the continuation of the trial.