The trial of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, over allegations of N80.2 billion fraud is ongoing, with proceedings taking place before Justice Emeka Nwite at the Federal High Court in Abuja. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is presenting its case, which includes testimony from witnesses and key financial documents.

On February 24, 2025, the EFCC introduced its first set of witnesses, starting with Segun Joseph Adeleke, the General Manager of EFAB Properties Limited. Adeleke testified about a property transaction involving a purchase for N70 million, which was made by Nuhu Mohammed via bank transfer. He also mentioned a separate transaction where EFAB Properties received N550 million, although he could not identify the source of the N70 million transfer. Under cross-examination, he confirmed he had no direct dealings with Yahaya Bello throughout these transactions.

The second witness, Williams Abimbola, a compliance officer with the United Bank for Africa (UBA), discussed his compliance responsibilities and confirmed he had received a subpoena from the EFCC, which was admitted as evidence in the court.

In addition to witness testimonies, the EFCC submitted the statement of account for the Kogi State Government House Account, covering transactions from January 1, 2016, to January 31, 2024, which were also admitted into evidence.

Yahaya Bello faces a total of 19 counts related to criminal breach of trust and money laundering, as stipulated under the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011. He has been granted bail set at N500 million, with two sureties of the same amount. Furthermore, he is also dealing with a separate 16-count fraud charge at the Federal Capital Territory High Court, where he has been granted similar bail conditions.

The trial is set to continue on March 6 and 7, 2025, as the prosecution works to establish its case against the former governor, who has been facing multiple legal challenges regarding allegations of corruption and financial misconduct during his time in office.

Former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore, representing the African Action Congress, clashed with officials from the Nigeria Police Force and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as they barred him from entering the Federal High Court.

Sowore asserted that he is not Yahaya Bello, the former Kogi State governor currently embroiled in a financial misappropriation case with the EFCC. In a video shared on his social media platform, Sowore expressed his frustration, accusing security personnel of hijacking Nigeria’s justice system, which he claims is under the control of uniformed agents, including the police and civil defense forces.

The activist alleged that the presence of security agents was an attempt to protect Bello, whom he referred to as a “thief,” and criticized the authorities for their failure to arrest Bello when he was declared wanted. He pointed out that Bello was only detained after voluntarily reporting to the EFCC in Abuja.

In his video address, Sowore challenged the officers, stating, “Why are you shouting at me? Do I look like Yahaya Bello? I have business in court. I don’t need to be cleared by either the police or EFCC because none of you is an officer of the court. This is a Federal High Court; bring a court official, and I will talk to them. EFCC brought me to court, and they are still harassing us. You have no right to stand in front of the high court. You are not my lawyer and have no right to know my case.”

This incident marks yet another confrontation for Sowore, who has a history of clashes with security forces. Recently, he alleged that the Nigeria Police Force intended to detain him due to his outspoken criticism of the extension of Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun’s tenure.

Sowore had previously been summoned to the Force Intelligence Headquarters following a viral video where he accused police officers of extorting money at a Lagos checkpoint. He faced allegations including resisting public officers, disobedience to lawful orders, cyberstalking, and attempting to prevent arrests. In a Facebook post, Sowore claimed that the police were relying on “rehashed information” primarily sourced from the internet to justify their actions against him.

The Osun State High Court in Ilesa has ordered the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission, (OSSIEC), to conduct elections for the vacant positions of local government chairmen and councillors in all the 30 local government areas and the area office in Osun State.

This order was made on Friday, 21st of February, 2025, sequel to a suit brought before the court by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), one of the political parties participating in the election.

More to follow…

The Federal Government has requested Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State to postpone the Local Government elections set for Saturday following a court ruling reinstating the APC Chairmen.

Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, revealed this while addressing the ongoing crisis in the state.

In a late Thursday statement, Fagbemi emphasized that the legal position was clear on the conflict between the APC and PDP.

OBSERVERS TIMES reported that violence erupted, resulting in casualties, over the control of Local Government secretariats in the state.

The state government blamed the APC and former governor Gboyega Oyetola for the unrest.

Despite Adeleke’s determination to hold the election on Saturday, Fagbemi highlighted that the court order used to remove the local government chairmen appointed under the previous administration had been invalidated.

The Attorney-General clarified the legal implications of the Court of Appeal’s judgment and urged Adeleke to advise OSIEC to postpone the election.