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The compliance officer of Zenith Bank, Femi Remigus, has presented an evidence against Ali Bello, the Chief of Staff to the governor of Kogi State, Usman Ododo in his N3 billion money laundering.
Remigus presented the evidence in a court session presided over by Justice Obiorah Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Tuesday, April 8.
The lawyer representing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Rotimi Oyedepo, stated that the banker was sixth prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of Ali Bello.
The EFCC had earlier charged Bello, Abba Daudu, Yakubu Siyaka Adabenege, Iyada Sadat, and Rashida Bello (who is still at large) with 18 counts of criminal misappropriation and money laundering, involving a sum of N3,081,804,654.00 on Wednesday, February 8, 2023.
But they all pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were read out to them.
However, when the case was heard on Tuesday, April 8, Oyedepo notified the court that the trial was set to continue.
While giving his testimony, Remigus detailed how millions of naira were deposited into the Komfort Koncept Company’s bank account from various bank accounts linked to different local government areas (LGAs) in Kogi on several dates in 2018.
The witness further explained that on specific dates, funds were transferred simultaneously from the LGA accounts into several of the defendants’ bank accounts, with a particular focus on Daudu’s account.
He said, “On October 4, 2018, there were nine credits or inflows into the account of Komfort Koncept Company.”
He informed the court that N18,629,944 originated from Ibaji LGA, N20,887,537 came from Adavi LGA, and N17,496,929 was from Kogi LGA.
The prosecution witness also mentioned that N18,460,565 came from Kabba LGA, while N17 million was from Ankpa LGA.
Adding that, “Yagba West Local Government credited N18,234,063, while Ofu Local Government credited N21,363,633.”
He stated that on the date the funds were received, a transfer of N105 million was made to Daudu and others.
Earlier in the proceedings, the EFCC’s witness presented related bank documents, including account statements, account opening packages, and identification certificates for the accounts of Komfort Koncept, Yakubu, Daudu, and others.
Oyedepo then requested to submit the documents as evidence, but the defense team, including Nureni Jimoh, raised objections to their admissibility and reserved their objections for the final written address stage.
Justice Egwuatu later accepted the exhibits into evidence, emphasizing that the court would assess their probative value when delivering its judgment.
The judge then adjourned the case to Monday, May 5, Monday, May 19, Tuesday, May 20, and Wednesday, May 21 for the continuation of the trial.
The EFCC is also prosecuting Bello in a separate case before Justice James Omotosho.
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