An operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), John Justice, on Tuesday told the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja that companies under investigation in the alleged ₦110.4 billion fraud case involving former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello received monthly inflows from Kogi State local government accounts.
He gave the testimony while appearing as the 20th prosecution witness before Justice Maryanne Anineh. Bello is standing trial alongside Umar Shuaibu Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu on a 16-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust and money laundering involving ₦110.4 billion.
Justice said investigators obtained bank records to trace the movement of funds through several companies linked to the case.
He told the court that analysis of the bank statements showed that most of the money paid into Forza Business Enterprise came from Kogi State local government accounts on a monthly basis.
He further stated that investigators identified Keyless Ventures as another company that allegedly benefited from the traced funds.
According to the witness, the companies received inflows from Kogi State, while many of the transactions were recorded as cash withdrawals.
He said the EFCC invited officials of Access Bank and Zenith Bank and requested CCTV footage because of the large cash transactions.
Justice told the court that the footage showed the huge sums recorded as cash withdrawals were not physically taken out of the banks.
He explained that customers would allegedly present a cheque and simultaneously deposit the money into another account instead of collecting cash.
The witness said the investigation began after the EFCC received intelligence about the activities of some local governments in Kogi State.
He added that investigators carried out Bank Verification Number (BVN) searches and analysed documents obtained from the banks, identifying companies including Hayzma Business Enterprise, Keyless Nature and Forza Business Enterprise.
Justice also confirmed that the exhibits presented in court were connected to the investigation and identified the companies linked to each document.
Earlier, the court discharged prosecution witness Jamilu Abdullahi after the defence concluded his cross-examination and the prosecution declined re-examination.
Justice Anineh adjourned the case to November 24, December 2 and December 8, 2026, for continuation of the trial.
COAS, TANZANIAN LAND FORCE