Federal High Court in Abuja has postponed the ongoing money laundering case against former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, to January 29, 2026.
Gatekeepers News reports that this follows a disagreement between the prosecution and defence over the authenticity of certain bank documents.
Recall that Bello is currently standing trial on a 19-count charge filed by the EFCC, accusing him of laundering ₦80.2 billion during his tenure as Governor.
Justice Emeka Nwite fixed January 29 and 30, as well as February 4 and 5, 2026, for the continuation of the trial after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) concluded the examination of its seventh witness on Tuesday.
During the resumed hearing, the prosecution team led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Kemi Pinheiro sought to tender documents identified as Exhibits 33 (1–11) and Exhibit 34through the seventh witness, Olomotame Egoro, a compliance officer from Access Bank.
However, Bello’s lawyer, Abdullahi Yahaya, objected to the tendering of the documents, arguing that the exhibits were unfamiliar to the defence and that the certificate of identification was not signed by the witness but by another officer, Faruk Idiaro. Yahaya also maintained that the documents were not included in the initial proof of evidence served on the defendant.
Responding, Pinheiro contended that although the attached certificate differed, the documents themselves were identical and urged the court to pause proceedings briefly to allow the defence to verify them. Justice Nwite then stood the matter down temporarily, directing both sides to reconcile the inconsistencies.
When the session resumed, Egoro explained the seven-column format of the statement of account and provided details of financial transactions made through the Kogi State Government House administration account between December 2018 and August 2021.
He identified several withdrawals, including cash payments of ₦50 million made in ₦10 million tranches to one Aminu J.O. on December 21, 2018, and multiple ₦10 million withdrawals by Abdulsalam Hudu on August 1, 2019.
The witness also reviewed Exhibit 33-8, a statement from Fazac Business Enterprise, showing inflows from local governments ranging between ₦4.49 million and ₦14.45 million on May 6, 2022, along with additional credits of ₦7.12 million and ₦9.4 million on May 9, 2022.
After the testimony, Justice Nwite adjourned further hearings to January 29 and 30, as well as February 4 and 5, 2026.
