Yahaya Bello: EFCC Witness Confirms Limits of Proof
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) witness (PW9), Mr. David Ajomah, a compliance officer of Sterling Bank Plc, on Friday admitted limits of his evidence against former Kogi State Governor Alhaji Yahaya Bello before a law court.
Ajomah disclosed this in his evidence during a re-examination being carried out by the Defence Counsel, Mr J.B Daudu (SAN) at the resumption of hearing of the case before justice MaryAnn Anenih of the FCT High Court, Abuja.
When proceedings in the ongoing trial resumed on Friday, the testimony of Ajomah under cross-examination substantially narrowed the scope of the prosecution’s case.
Ajomah, who appeared in court pursuant to a subpoena, testified that between January and August 2019, the account of Bespoque Business Solutions Limited received total inflows of ₦1.16 billion.
He told the court that the inflows were credited by the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service (KSIRS) as commission.
According to him, cash withdrawals within the same period amounted to ₦952.4 million, largely in tranches of ₦10 million.
Earlier in his testimony, the witness stated that between March and August 2019 alone, the account recorded inflows of ₦963.8 million. He also confirmed that cash withdrawals attributed to a named individual, Philip Kuma, totalled ₦835.9 million during the period under review.
Kemi Pinheiro, SAN,
While being led by the prosecution, Mr Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, the witness told the court that the pattern of cash withdrawals between January and August 2019 was consistent, contrasting sharply with transactions between July and December 2018.
He explained that during the earlier period, there were no inflows from the Kogi State Government or KSIRS and that cash withdrawals were minimal, mostly below ₦1 million. He further confirmed that debit entries prior to January 2019 were largely transfers rather than cash withdrawals.
The prosecution sought to link the transaction pattern to banking compliance obligations, with the witness explaining the concepts of Suspicious Transaction Reports (STR) and Cash Transaction Reports (CTR).
He told the court that a CTR is filed for cash transactions exceeding ₦5 million for individuals and ₦10 million for corporate entities, in line with Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) regulations, while an STR is filed where transactions are inconsistent with the nature of a customer’s business.
However, under cross-examination, the defence exposed critical limitations in the witness’s evidence.
Mr. Ajomah admitted that he did not have the account opening documents for Bespoque Business Solutions Limited and therefore did not know the company’s directors or signatories.
He further conceded that he had no knowledge of the nature of the company’s business and that his testimony was limited strictly to the bank statement tendered as Exhibit AB1.
Defence counsel successfully established that without knowing the nature of the customer’s business, the witness could not conclusively determine whether the transaction pattern was unusual or suspicious.
The witness also confirmed that none of the cash withdrawals exceeded the ₦10 million limit prescribed by the CBN for corporate entities and that Sterling Bank honoured the withdrawals because they complied with regulatory requirements.
Crucially, Mr. Ajomah told the court that he had no evidence that any Suspicious Transaction Report was filed in respect of the transactions in question.
He also confirmed that none of the defendants, Yahaya Bello, Umar Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu—appeared as beneficiaries in any of the transactions reflected in the bank statement.
He further stated that the name Abdulsalami Hudu did not appear in any transaction between July and December 2018.
After hearing Ajomah testimony, Justice MaryAnne Anenih adjourned the matter to Feb. 10 for continuation of hearing.
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