On Thursday, the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court adjourned an amended money-laundering charge preferred against Ali Bello and his co-defendant, Daudu Sulaiman, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission until July 15.
Justice James Omotosho adjourned the matter for trial continuation after the defence counsel cross-examined the EFCC’s witness, Olom Otane Egoro, an Access Bank employee.
Some weeks ago, EFCC counsel Rotimi Oyedepo presented Mr Egoro from the bank’s compliance unit as the EFCC’s sixth prosecution witness (PW6).
The banker, while being led in evidence, told the court that the EFCC, via a letter, requested the bank statements of the Kogi Government House for the period of 2018 to 2021.
He said the commission also asked for other documents, including the account opening mandate for the account and certificate of compliance with respect to the printouts.
The witness thereafter went through the statement of account, detailing the various deposits into and withdrawals from the same via transfers and cash.
From his evidence, Mr Egoro had said the withdrawals were N10 million each in different tranches.
The witness, however, did not state who deposited the monies, what the monies were deposited for, who withdrew the same, and for what purpose before concluding his testimony on the last adjourned date.
Mr Oyedepo had tendered the documents through the witness, and they were admitted in evidence accordingly. Today, they were fixed for cross-examination.
However, during Thursday’s cross-examination by Abubakar Aliyu, counsel for the first defendant (Mr Bello’s nephew), Egoro admitted there was no lodgement or withdrawal linked to Bello in the exhibit before him.
The witness equally admitted that the staff of the bank’s compliance unit are not the ones who run and maintain the bank’s servers, where information on bank transactions is generated.
He added that it was the duty of the bank’s ICT Department to manage the bank servers.
The lawyer to the second defendant (Mr Suleiman), Olusegun Jolaawo, equally cross-examined the PW6.
After the defence counsel completed their cross-examination, the judge discharged Mr Egoro from the witness box and adjourned the matter until July 15 and July 16 for trial continuation.
Messrs Bello and Suleiman, in the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/550/2022, are standing trial on a 10-count charge bordering on money laundering brought against them by the anti-graft agency.
(NAN)
