The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Thursday tendered additional bank documents before a Federal High Court in Abuja in the ongoing trial of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, over an alleged N110.4 billion fraud.

Bello is being prosecuted alongside Umar Shuaibu Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu on a 16-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust and money laundering.

At the resumed hearing, prosecution counsel, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), called the sixth witness, Mashelia Arhyel Bata, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank, for further cross-examination before Justice Maryanne Anineh.

Counsel to the first and second defendants, Joseph Daudu (SAN), questioned the witness on Exhibit S1, a statement of account earlier admitted in evidence. Daudu sought clarification on the “description” column of the document.

Bata explained that the column contained narrations of transactions and drew attention to an entry dated January 20, 2016, which read: “Cq 158 Abdulsalami Hudu for N10,000,000.”

He also identified another entry showing: “ZB chq 155 paid Halims Hotels and Tours, Lokoja – N2,454,400.”

When asked if he knew the purpose of the payments, the witness said the bank had no means of determining how the funds were eventually utilised.

Daudu further referred to Exhibit X1, which Bata confirmed as the account-opening package for a company with account number 1014878995 domiciled at Zenith Bank, Lokoja branch.

The defence counsel questioned the witness on the number of transactions within certain dates. While Daudu suggested there were 21 transactions between March 10 and 12, 2016, Bata said the entries before him commenced from November 14, 2016.

Reading entries of December 6, 2016, the witness disclosed a credit of N74,378,483.20 from the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service and a cheque payment of N10 million to Mohammed Jami’u Sallau on the same day.

He added that the statement did not indicate the purpose of the payment, noting that another N10 million credit to Sallau carried no specific narration.

Under cross-examination by Z.B. Abbas, counsel to the third defendant, the witness confirmed that all withdrawals by Abdulsalami Hudu were made through cheques duly signed by authorised signatories.

Bata also affirmed that Exhibit X1 represented the Government House account, while Exhibit X2 showed that Hudu was introduced to the bank as a civil servant and accountant.

Justice Anineh adjourned the matter to January 16 for continuation of trial.