The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed April 24, 2026, to rule on a legal dispute over evidence in the ongoing trial of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello.
Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned proceedings on Thursday after hearing arguments from both the prosecution and defence on whether a document could be re-presented to a witness by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The EFCC is prosecuting Bello on allegations of money laundering, claiming he used proxies and companies to divert public funds and conceal proceeds through transactions allegedly amounting to N80.2 billion.
During the hearing, EFCC counsel, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), sought to re-present Exhibit 46, the earlier statement of the 12th prosecution witness—to clarify inconsistencies in his testimony.
However, defence counsel, Joseph Daudu (SAN), objected to the move, arguing that the prosecution could not confront its own witness without first declaring him hostile.
“My Lord, I object. If learned counsel intends to contradict his witness, he must first apply to have him declared a hostile witness,” he said.
“The witness has clearly stated that the transactions took place only at his office and that of Abba Adaudu. Counsel cannot rely on this document to contradict or augment the witness’s oral evidence without following due procedure,” he added.
The objection followed testimony by the witness, Abdullahi Jamilu, owner of Kumfayakum Global Limited, who told the court that he converted funds received from Abba Adaudu into US dollars and handed them over at different times.
Under cross-examination, the witness maintained that he only delivered the funds at his office or that of Adaudu and could not confirm making deliveries elsewhere.
In response, Pinheiro argued that he was not contradicting the witness but merely attempting to refresh his memory, noting that the transactions occurred in 2022. He cited provisions of the Evidence Act supporting the use of prior statements for that purpose.
But Daudu disagreed, insisting the prosecution was effectively treating its witness as hostile without following due legal process.
“My contention is that my learned friend is attempting to treat his witness as hostile by confronting him with prior statements already tendered as exhibits,” he said.
“This amounts to contradiction without first seeking leave of court to declare the witness hostile, contrary to Section 230 of the Evidence Act,” he added, citing Ibe v. State (1997) LPELR-1389 (SC).
Earlier in his testimony, the witness denied making cash deposits at the Lokoja branch of Access Bank, although he acknowledged that similar names appeared in deposit records. He attributed the deposits to Abba Adaudu and said he only converted the funds into US dollars before handing them over.
He also confirmed inflows of N100 million and N400 million into his company’s account in December 2021 from Keyless Nature Limited, which he identified as belonging to Adaudu, as well as another transaction from Ejadams Essence Limited in February 2022.
The court is expected to decide whether the prosecution can re-present the disputed exhibit to the witness without first declaring him hostile, as the trial continues.
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