Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja, on Tuesday adjourned to rule on the admissibility of a Deed of Assignment and an Irrevocable Power of Attorney tendered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the ongoing trial of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Adoza Bello.
The documents relate to the alleged sale of Plot 1160, Cadastral Zone, Gwarimpa 2, Abuja, said to have been sold for ₦100 million.
Bello is facing a 19-count charge bordering on alleged money laundering amounting to ₦80,246,470,088.88.
The controversy arose when prosecution counsel, Chukwudi Enebeli, SAN, sought to tender the Deed of Assignment and the Irrevocable Power of Attorney through the 10th prosecution witness (PW10), Mahmoud Abdulaziz, Chief Accountant of Dantata & Sawoe Construction Limited.
Abdulaziz told the court that the company sold the 8,240.72-square-metre property to Azba Real Estate Limited for ₦100 million. According to him, the payment was made in tranches of ₦70 million on February 17, 2021; ₦10 million on February 19; and ₦20 million on February 22, 2021, via electronic transfers into the company’s Keystone Bank account.
He stated that the transfers were made by Maigari Murtala, while the Deed of Assignment was executed between Dantata & Sawoe and Azba Real Estate Limited, and signed by Mubarak Dantata, Nasiru Dantata and Ali Bello. He further testified that an Irrevocable Power of Attorney was executed between Mubarak Dantata and Ali Bello and that the documents were submitted to the EFCC during investigation.
However, defence counsel, J.B. Daudu, SAN, objected to the admissibility of the documents on three grounds, arguing that they were registrable instruments relating to land title and ought to have been registered.
He contended that only Certified True Copies from the appropriate land registry would be admissible and maintained that the EFCC was not the custodian of land documents. He also argued that the purported certification by an EFCC official was contrary to Section 114 of the Evidence Act.
Responding, prosecution counsel Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, described the objection as a misconception of the law, insisting that the documents were tendered to support oral evidence already given by the witness.
He stressed that the matter before the court was a criminal prosecution for money laundering and not a civil dispute over land ownership.
“This is about financial crimes and the flow of funds. We are not tendering these documents to prove title or ownership. This court does not have jurisdiction to determine title to land,” he argued.
Pinheiro further submitted that a document inadmissible for one purpose may be admissible for another. He added that once a private document is submitted to a public officer during investigation, it becomes a public document in custody and may be certified.
After listening to arguments from both sides, Justice Nwite adjourned the matter till March 9, 2026, for ruling on the admissibility of the documents and continuation of trial.
Earlier, the defence informed the court of a pending application seeking leave to vacate an earlier order granting Bello permission to travel for lesser Hajj. Daudu said both parties were engaged in discussions and requested time to report on whether the application would still be necessary.
Pinheiro confirmed the discussions and stated that the prosecution would respond to issues relating to a Red Notice at the next sitting.
In the course of proceedings, the eighth prosecution witness (PW8), an official of FCMB, confirmed that Exhibit 37 was the statement of account of Kunfayakun Global Limited from January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2024. He told the court he was neither the account officer nor relationship manager and had no direct relationship with the account signatories.
He confirmed a ₦100 million inflow on December 15 from Keyless Nature Limited but said he could not determine the purpose of the transfer. He also confirmed a ₦400 million RTGS inflow on December 17, 2021, explaining that RTGS means Real Time Gross Settlement, but maintained he did not know the business relationship between the parties. Similarly, he acknowledged a ₦600 million inflow from Ejadams on February 18, 2022, but said he did not know the purpose of the transaction. He was subsequently discharged.
The ninth prosecution witness (PW9), Oluwafemi Victoria, a compliance officer with Polaris Bank, testified under subpoena, which was admitted as Exhibit 38, while statements of account and certificate of identification were admitted as Exhibits 39 and 40.
She confirmed multiple ₦10 million inflows into JIT Limited’s account on November 23 and 24, 2021, from Musa Nura, Yusuf Mubarak and Maishanu Global Industry, totaling ₦150 million.
On SSP Foods Limited’s account, she identified 10 credit entries on November 24, 2021, including ₦70 million from Inganchi Synergy and ₦70 million from Murtala Maigari, among others, amounting to ₦250 million.
Under cross-examination, she stated she was neither the account officer nor relationship manager and did not know the business relationships behind the transactions.
The matter continues on March 9, 2026.
- Lawyers’ absence stalls El-Rufai’s N1bn suit against ICPC - March 3, 2026
- Reps move to recover $7bn aviation debt from foreign airlines - March 3, 2026
- US distances itself from strike that killed Khamenei - March 3, 2026
