Bello: Kogi Govt breached no banking regulation in fund withdrawals – EFCC

By Vivian Okejeme Abuja

An Economic and Financial Crime Commission(EFCC), Wednesday told Justice Maryam Aninih that no banking regulation was breached in the withdrawals of funds by the government house administration under former governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State.
The prosecution witness, Mrs Williams Abimbola, told the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Maitama, that her bank, United Bank for Africa, UBA, acted within the ambit of the law during withdrawals by one of the defendants in the money laundering charges.
Under cross-examination by A. M Aliu, the witness specifically told the court that non of the withdrawals was above N10 million being the maximum allowed by law for withdrawals.
The Compliance Officer with UBA, admitted that she had given similar evidence before the Federal High Court in FHC/ABJ/CR/98/2024 between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Yahaya Adoza Bello.
The witness, however, admitted not being the relationship or account manager of the Kogi Government House account and that the account was domiciled in Lokoja but noted that transactions were in line with stipulated guidelines.
The witness, who had testified that she worked at the Area 3, Abuja branch of UBA at a previous Federal High Court hearing on March 6, 2025, told the court that she could work at any branch.
“I reported to 18, Adetokunbo Ademola Wuse 2, Abuja, this morning,” she said.
On cross-examination, Yahaya Bello’s Counsel, Joseph Daudu, SAN, asked the witness that, as a Compliance Officer, does her duty involve protecting the integrity of the bank from legal penalty, reputational damage and financial losses? “Yes,” she responded.
She had, while testifying, confirmed multiple transactions by Abdulsalam Hudu in the sum of N10 million each between 31st July and 6th August, 2019.
But she told the court that she was not in a position to know why the withdrawals were made.
When asked if no banker demands to know the purpose for which a customer makes a withdrawal, she explained that when making transfer, the bank asks for the purpose of transaction and relationship on high volume transactions.
But she added that the bank does not make such enquiries in the case of cash withdrawal, noting that the banker was not an internal auditor of the customer.