Yahaya Bello: How N2.1b Loan was Repaid with Funds from Kogi State LGAs – Witness Narrates  

The trial of former Kogi State governor, Yahaya Adoza Bello, continued on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, before Justice Maryanne Anineh of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Maitama, Abuja, with the Tenth Prosecution Witness, PW10, Olomotane Egoro, a compliance officer with Access Bank giving a detailed movement of public funds through multiple bank accounts.
 

Led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, the witness, who testified, pursuant to a subpoena, disclosed that there was a loan disbursement credit in the sum of ₦2.1 billion into Keyless Nature Limited account on December 14, 2021, captured in Exhibit AU. Asked if the loan was utilised, he responded: “Yes, it was utilised by the customer.”
 
He further testified that from December 24 up to July 5, 2022, there were multiple credit entries from various Kogi State local government accounts.
 
On loan repayments made on January 14, February 14, March 14, April 14 and May 16, 2022, the witness said they were loan repayments, including interest, disclosing that the source of funds for the repayments came from Kogi State local government areas.
 
He told the court that up to December 2022, repayments were consistently made on the 14th of each month and that the pattern remained the same, with loan repayments sourced from various Kogi State local government areas.
 
Turning to Exhibit AJ, being the statement of account of Westwood Limited, the witness testified that on March 21, 2018, there was a principal loan disbursement of ₦818,698,262.29 and  that on April 8, 2020, there were 15 cash deposits by several individuals at the Lokoja branch of Access Bank for the loan repayment. On May 7, 2020, he disclosed that there were 20 cash deposits by several individuals. According to him, the avalanche of cash deposits made at the Lokoja branch were used to liquidate the existing loan, even though the account holder, Westwood Motors, was domiciled at the National Assembly branch in Abuja.
 
The witness identified Exhibit AH1 as the statement of account of the Kogi State Government House account opening package.
 
Pinheiro directed the witness to examine the entries from December 2018 to August 2019. Following the examination, the witness told the court that there were “quite a number of inflows” into the account, followed by withdrawals. He confirmed that the names of Aminu Jimoh Olarenwaju and Abdulsalami Hudu featured in the statement, stating: “Yes, my lord, there were several cash withdrawals by Aminu Jimoh Olarenwaju and Abdulsalami Hudu.” He noted that after transfers were made into the account, withdrawals followed almost immediately. 
 
Referring to a transaction of December 24, 2018, the witness said there were cash withdrawals and that the bank filed a Suspicious Transaction Report, STR, to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, NFIU, because the transaction did not align with the customer’s profile.
 
On January 15 and 16, 2019, he told the court that there were 10 cash withdrawals of ₦10 million each by Aminu Olarenwaju on each of the two days, totaling ₦100 million. Similarly, on March 8, 2019, he said there were 10 cash withdrawals of ₦10 million each by the same individual.
 
The witness also testified that on August 1, 2019, there were 30 cash withdrawals of ₦10 million each by Abdulsalami Hudu, totaling ₦300 million. According to him, “the pattern of such withdrawals followed immediately after there was money in the account.”
 
When asked about the purpose or narration of withdrawals by Aminu Jimoh Olarenwaju, the witness said it was not stated. 
 
On whether Abdulsalami Hudu was a signatory to the account, the witness responded that he would need to check. Asked whether the purpose of withdrawals by Hudu was stated, he answered in the affirmative.

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