The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), yesterday, dragged former Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja, for alleged N84 billion money laundering offences, alongside his nephew Ali Bello, Dauda Sulaiman and AbdulSalam Hudu.
The EFCC is prosecuting the quartet on an amended 17-count charge of money laundering, breach of trust and misappropriation of fund to tune of N84, 062,406,089.88.
To make way for Yahaya Bello’s inclusion in the trial, Prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, (SAN), informed the court of an application before it for the amendment of the charges against the defendants, dated February 5, 2024, and filed the same day. He then prayed that the amended charges be read to the defendants for them to take their pleas. The judge granted the prayer, overruling objections from A.M Aliyu (SAN), and Olusegun Joolawo (SAN), counsels to first and second defendants, Ali Bello and Suleiman.
Count One of the charges reads: “That you, Ali Bello, Dauda Suleiman, Yahaya Adoza Bello (still at large) and Abdulsalam Hudu (still at large), sometime in September, 2015 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, conspired amongst yourselves to convert the total sum of N80,246,470,089.88, which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of the proceeds of your unlawful activity to wit, criminal breach of trust; and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(b) and punishable under Section 15(3) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended)”.
While ex-Governor Yahaya Bello and Hudu are still at large, Ali Bello and Suleiman, first and second defendants respectively, who were present in court pleaded ‘not guilty’ to all the charges when they were read to them.
In continuation of the trial, Oyedepo invited fourth Prosecution witness, Yakubu Gana, counsel to the property-owner and seller of a property located in Danube Street, Maitama, Abuja, which Ali Bello and Suleiman allegedly bought at the cost of N950million on behalf of ex-governor Bello through their lawyer, Ramalan Jibril Abdullahi.
Gana said that, “We negotiated and agreed on the sum of N950million. Their lawyer, Ramalan Abdullahi, said his clients would prefer to pay in cash and in dollars. I had to call my client to inform him, because he was not in the country at that time. My client cautioned me whether I knew the buyers, and I answered that I knew their lawyer way back in secondary school.
He further said, “The lawyer and the clients invited me into their office, a Bureau de-Change (BDC) office at Zone-4, adjacent to Sheraton, now Abuja Continental Hotel. They then showed me dollars in ‘Ghana must go’ bags; but the dollars in the bags was not up to that N950million. They said they would make it up by bringing some dollars. The transaction took us almost two weeks; and the lawyer invited me to the same BDC office for confirmation, then the money was completed in dollar equivalent”.
In his testimony as fifth Prosecution witness, Abdullahi told the court that though he acted as a go-between in the purchase of the property, his major assignment was to carry out due diligence on the said property, which paved the way for its purchase by Ali Bello and Suleiman, his clients.
Oyedepo requested for the property’s title documents to enable him to tender them in evidence. However, Justice Omotosho ordered him to formally apply to the defendants.
He, thereafter, adjourned the matter to March 28, 2024 for continuation of trial.
Constituency Projects: “Each senator got N200m; but presiding officers received more” – Ndume
Chief Whip of the 10th Senate, Ali Ndume, has said each senator was allocated N200 million for constituency projects in the 2024 Budget.
Over the past few days, controversy has ensued over the 2024 budget, amid allegations of padding and project insertions.
Recall that last Saturday, Abdul Ningi, who is the Senator representing Bauchi-Central, stirred controversy when he alleged that the budget was padded with the sum of N3 trillion by the Senate.
Speaking in an interview during a television programme on Wednesday, Ndume said 10 senators, who are leaders, including himself, got more than N200 million in constituency allocation.
The allegation elicited debate on the floor of the upper legislative chamber as many senators were furious over Ningi’s claim. During the debate, Jarigbe Jarigbe, a lawmaker representing Cross River-North, claimed that some “senior senators” got N500 million in the 2024 budget for constituency projects. Subsequently, Ningi was suspended for three months.
Speaking on the development, Ndume said Ningi was wrong for the budget padding allegation. He added that the Bauchi senator wanted to make the 2024 budget an ethnic issue.
The Borno senator said the issue of constituency projects is not a new phenomenon in Nigerian politics.
He added that most of his colleagues know that he got more funds than they did because of his position as the Chief Whip. “All the senators have N200 million each for their constituency projects; but I’m a leader. That’s the difference”, he said.
“Ten of us are leaders; including the ones in the opposition. They got more than the floor members. It is normal. My colleagues know that I got more than the N200 million allocation. We are not all the same. All animals are equal but some are more equal than others. That is the case”.
Ndume declined to disclose the exact amount he received for his “constituency projects”.
