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By Correspondent in Abuja.
A prosecution witness in the alleged money laundering trial involving the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, on Wednesday told the court that he was not working with Access Bank Plc when the transactions linked to the Kogi State Government were carried out.
The witness, Olomotane Egoro, who appeared as the 10th witness for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), made the clarification during cross-examination before Justice Maryann Anenih.
Egoro told the court that the transactions listed in Exhibit AH1, which covered the period from January 1, 2016 to April 2023, were conducted before he joined the bank.
He also informed the court that he was not the account officer responsible for the account linked to the transactions.
Responding to questions from defence counsel, Zakari Abbas, the witness confirmed that the bank approved all the cheques presented by the third defendant, Abdulsalam Hudu, and maintained that the bank did not violate any regulations of the Central Bank of Nigeria in the process.
“All the withdrawals were approved by the bank,” Egoro said, adding that there was no breach of banking rules in relation to the transactions.
The witness further told the court that the opening documents for the account belonging to Fazab Business Enterprise, marked as Exhibit AP, were not before the court.
He said he could not confirm the exact business activities of the company, although he acknowledged that corporate account openings require incorporation documents.
Egoro also noted that he could not explain why several local government councils made deposits into the account unless such purposes were clearly stated.
During the proceedings, the court’s attention was drawn to a transaction dated May 6, 2022 in Exhibit AP. Egoro confirmed that an inflow from Okehi Local Government Area into the account was recorded for the supply of medical items.
Following the cross-examination, Justice Anenih adjourned the case to March 12 for continuation of trial.
At the previous hearing, the witness also informed the court that no banking rules were breached in transactions linked to the Kogi Government House account, adding that neither the name of Bello nor that of the second defendant appeared in the transaction records tendered before the court.
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
