By Francis Wilfred
Fresh details emerged on Friday, January 16, 2026, in the ongoing trial of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Adoza Bello, as a prosecution witness told the Federal Capital Territory High Court how the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service (KIRS) allegedly paid over ₦1.16 billion as “commission” to a private individual within eight months.The testimony was given before Justice Maryanne Anineh at the FCT High Court, Maitama, Abuja, where 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 an alleged ₦110.4 billion.
The witness, Prosecution Witness 9 (PW9), Mr. David Ajoma, a compliance officer with Sterling Bank, testified that the payments were made into a Sterling Bank account belonging to one Philip Kumar between January and August 2019. He added that the inflows were followed by consistent and heavy cash withdrawals, which he described as unusual by banking standards.
According to a press release issued by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and signed by its Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, the matter resumed for continuation of evidence, with PW9 appearing pursuant to a subpoena.Led in evidence by lead prosecution counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, the witness confirmed entries contained in Exhibit AD1, a statement of account previously admitted by the court. He told the court that between March and August 2019 alone, a total of ₦963,803,717.38 was paid into the account from the Kogi State treasury.
PW9 further testified that ₦835,904,000 was withdrawn in cash during the same period. When earlier inflows for January and February 2019 were examined, he identified credits of ₦99,593,761.81 on January 8, 2019, and ₦101,533,384.94 on February 7, 2019, both bearing narrations linked to KIRS.Summarising all inflows described as commission payments, the witness stated: “From the exhibit, Kogi State Internal Revenue Service paid a total of ₦1,164,959,568.13 as commission within eight months in 2019.”
He added that total cash withdrawals between January and August 2019 amounted to ₦953,404,000, confirming a consistent pattern of withdrawals that often occurred shortly after inflows from Kogi State Government-related accounts.Asked to give his professional opinion as a banker, PW9 said the transaction pattern was consistent with suspicious activity. He explained that under banking regulations, a Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) is required when transactions are inconsistent with a customer’s profile or exceed regulatory cash thresholds.
However, he told the court that he did not have information on whether an STR was filed in respect of the account. He also confirmed that prior to the alleged commission payments, there were no inflows into the account between July and December 2018, with only minimal withdrawals recorded during that period.
Under cross-examination, PW9 admitted he did not have access to the account opening documents and could not determine the nature of the account holder’s business, its seasonality, or its signatories. He also said he could not differentiate between Kogi State Government and KIRS beyond the transaction narrations.After cross-examination by defence counsel, Justice Anineh discharged the witness and adjourned the case to February 10 and 11, and March 11 and 12, 2026, for continuation of trial.
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