In a dramatic turn of events at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday, an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) witness openly refuted allegations that he was harassed by security aides of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello.
Mshellia Bata, a Compliance Officer with Zenith Bank, contradicted claims made by the anti-graft agency when he told Justice Emeka Nwite that he experienced no intimidation before, during, or after his testimony on June 26.
Witness Clears the Air
"My Lord, I wish to clarify the matter raised earlier before the commencement of proceedings. I was not harassed by any of the security details attached to the defendant," Bata stated firmly in court.
"I was not harassed at all, and I felt the need to clarify this, my lord," he added, noting that he had not lodged any complaints with anyone regarding such incidents.
The clarification came after EFCC's lawyer, Kemi Pinheiro SAN, had alleged that the witness faced intimidation and harassment by Bello's agents following his testimony the previous day.
Misinformation on EFCC Website
During the proceedings, defense counsel Joseph Daudu SAN drew the court's attention to a story published on the EFCC's website that alleged harassment of the Commission's witness. Daudu also claimed the EFCC had misrepresented facts from the previous day's court proceedings.
In response, Pinheiro promised to alert the EFCC office about the misinformation. Daudu commended the witness for his honesty and integrity in coming forward to clarify the situation in open court.
Key Testimony Regarding Bello's Involvement
During cross-examination, Bata confirmed that the former governor was neither a signatory to nor connected with any of the accounts presented as evidence. He admitted that Yahaya Bello's name did not appear as a beneficiary in any of the transactions documented in Exhibit 22A, which contained records of the Kogi Government House Administration account.
"I am here to speak on the documents before me. From the document, His Excellency, Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello's name did not feature in any description or as beneficiary in any transaction in the documents before me," the witness confirmed.
Application for Travel Documents
Following the day's testimony, Daudu informed the court about an application for the release of Bello's travel documents to enable him to travel to the United Kingdom for medical care.
"My lord, the substance of the application is for the release of his international passport in line with the conditions for the bail that if he needs, he has to apply to court," Daudu explained. "He has medical needs to attend to during the period of the vacation. After eight years of not traveling, he needs to attend to certain aspects of his health."
The prosecution countered that they had filed a counter-affidavit, arguing that the application was technically incompetent and constituted an abuse of court process as a similar application had been filed at the FCT High Court.
Justice Nwite adjourned the case to July 3 and 4 for continuation of trial and July 21 for ruling on the application to travel.
It is worth noting that on Thursday, the court had rejected an EFCC move to 'cross-examine' its third witness, Nicholas Ojehomon, CEO of Efab Property Limited, who had previously testified that there was no wired transfer of fees from the Kogi State Government or any local governments to the account of the American school in question.
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