Rita Odafe
The Federal Capital Territory High Court has postponed the hearing of the money laundering trial involving former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, to April 3 and May 6, 2024.
Justice Maryann Anenih decided to adjourn the case after hearing testimony from the initial witness, property developer Fabian Nworah.
At the hearing, Prosecution Counsel Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, indicated he had five witnesses ready but Justice Anenih advised that only one witness could be heard that day due to a packed schedule.
The court also announced it would not convene the following day as initially planned.
Joseph Daudu, SAN, representing the first and second defendants, pointed out that the defense team had not received the statements on oath from the second defendant. He noted that the first defendant had yet to submit any statement.
Daudu objected to the witness provided by the prosecution, asserting that the defendants were unfamiliar with him before this hearing.
He argued that the legal process should not be an elusive game and insisted that the prosecution must furnish the witness’s statements beforehand to allow the defense adequate preparation for questioning.
“We have not received the statements related to the second defendant, which is critical for our representation,” he remarked.
“It creates a significant challenge for us as they have yet to share the relevant statements,” he continued.
In support, Abubakar Aliyu, SAN, representing the third defendant, requested that the court compel the prosecution to provide the statements for both the second and third defendants.
When queried about prior requests for these statements, Aliyu revealed he uncovered on Tuesday that these documents were missing from the provided evidence.
He also asked the court to mandate the prosecution to produce copies of any recovered digital device and related forensic reports referenced in the evidence documentation.
Aliyu cited an earlier legal precedent to support his application.
On the other hand, the prosecution countered, claiming the defense was seeking to stall the trial progress.
Pinheiro insisted that the defense had been served with the evidence on November 27, and the law only requires the prosecution to provide requested documents, not all supporting documents.
He urged the court to resume proceedings, noting that substantial time had already been consumed discussing these issues.
“We have spent more than an hour on such arguments,” he stated.
In response to the judge’s inquiry about why these matters weren’t raised in December, Daudu explained that such issues needed to be addressed only after the arraignment.
“It is critical for our defense,” added the third defendant’s counsel.
The court, however, denied the delay request and instructed the prosecution to proceed with the case.
The first witness called was Fabian Nwora, who explained that he had been summoned by the EFCC regarding a financial transaction involving Shehu Bello and EFAB Property Nigeria Limited.
Throughout his testimony, Nwora did not mention Yahaya Bello’s name but confirmed he sold property to Shehu Bello, though the sale agreement listed Dr. Bello Ohiani’s name.
Nwora recounted that in 2023, Shehu Bello told EFAB that the property was being investigated by the EFCC, leading him to return associated documents and request a refund of N550 million. The EFCC later instructed EFAB to refund this amount in two installments.
He mentioned that since then, he hadn’t interacted with Shehu Bello or Dr. Ohiani until called to testify in December 2024 regarding their transaction.
After listening to the witness, the court adjourned proceedings to April 3 and 24, and May 6, 2025, for further hearings.
