Judge withdraws from Ali Bello’s N10bn trial over evidence tampering

Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja has withdrawn from the N10.27 billion alleged money laundering trial involving Kogi State Governor Usman Ododo’s Chief of Staff, Ali Bello, and his co-defendant, Dauda Sulaiman.

The judge recused himself on Thursday, citing concerns over the integrity of a key exhibit allegedly tampered with by a court registrar and the possibility that his continued involvement in the case could create perceptions of bias.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is prosecuting Bello and Sulaiman over alleged misappropriation and money laundering in a case initially filed in 2022. The defendants have denied the allegations.

Justice Omotosho said his decision followed an incident in February in which the court’s registrar, Nasir Zubairu Onimisi, allegedly admitted tampering with Exhibit N, a mobile phone containing WhatsApp conversations relating to transactions at the centre of the case.

According to the judge, Onimisi had approached him at his residence early on February 5 and confessed to altering the exhibit, claiming he had been promised a house in Abuja by the defendants.

The judge said he subsequently played a recording of the registrar’s confession in open court, where Onimisi confirmed the contents.

The phone was examined in court, and the judge said the parties discovered that some of its contents had been altered. He consequently ordered the arrest and investigation of the registrar and the defendants, including forensic examination of their phones and calls.

However, when proceedings resumed on Thursday, the EFCC informed the court that it had learnt that the Department of State Services had completed its investigation and forwarded its report to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation.

The prosecution, however, could not provide the court with the outcome of the investigation.

The development became particularly significant because the EFCC had already closed its case after calling 17 witnesses. Bello and Sulaiman subsequently filed no-case submissions, arguing that the prosecution had not presented sufficient evidence to require them to enter their defence.

Justice Omotosho said Exhibit N was one of the “material pieces of evidence” in the prosecution’s case and could become important in determining whether a prima facie case had been established.

He noted that some contents of the exhibit had already been downloaded onto a flash drive tendered before the court.

The judge said continuing with the matter could create conflicting perceptions depending on how he treated the disputed exhibit. Giving it substantial weight could be interpreted as reacting to the circumstances surrounding the alleged tampering, while giving it little or no weight could create a perception that he was minimising the significance of the incident.

He also disclosed that he had previously forfeited a property in Gwarimpa, Abuja, to the Federal Government in a separate forfeiture matter which, according to him, was connected to the present case and the defendants.

Justice Omotosho said the circumstances made it necessary to take a preventive approach in order to protect confidence in the judicial process.

He therefore ruled that it was “reasonable, fair and in the interest of the parties, the administration of justice and society at large” for him to step aside.

The judge ordered that the case file be returned to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court for reassignment to another judge.

Bello, a nephew of former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, and Sulaiman are facing an amended 16-count charge involving alleged misappropriation and money laundering of about N10.27 billion. The EFCC closed its case in June after presenting 17 witnesses.