A Sterling Bank compliance officer told the FCT High Court in Abuja on Friday that more than N1.1 billion was moved from the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service to a private company during former Governor Yahaya Bello’s administration.
Testifying as the ninth prosecution witness, David Ajoma informed the court that the funds were transferred to Bespoque Business Solutions Limited, as he continued evidence he began on Thursday at the instance of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The EFCC is prosecuting Bello and two others over allegations of diverting N110 billion belonging to Kogi State. The former governor, who served between 2016 and 2024, has denied the charges alongside his co-defendants.
Ajoma told Justice Maryanne Anenih that prior to January 2019, the company’s account balance stood at about N2 million before it began receiving multiple inflows from KSIRS totalling N99.5 million between January and February of that year.
He further said that from March to August 2019, additional transfers exceeding N960 million were made into the same account.
The witness noted that following the inflows, a certain Philip Kuma engaged in frequent cash withdrawals, some of which exceeded the Central Bank of Nigeria’s prescribed limits.
While the EFCC suggested that such withdrawals should have triggered a Suspicious Transaction Report, Ajoma said he could not confirm whether Sterling Bank filed one, though he believed it likely did.
Under cross-examination, defence lawyers pointed out that the bank neither froze the account nor flagged the withdrawals as illegal, with Ajoma agreeing that nothing on the face of the transactions indicated wrongdoing.
He also admitted that he was unfamiliar with the company’s business operations or its account signatories and that the Kogi State Government was not directly referenced in any of the transaction descriptions.
When asked to identify whether the defendants’ names appeared among the account beneficiaries, Ajoma confirmed that none of them featured in the records.
The court also heard that other witnesses had previously testified about large withdrawals from government-linked accounts, including evidence that the third defendant withdrew over N1 billion from a Government House account within nine months.
As the trial continues, several individuals and companies whose names have surfaced in bank records remain of unclear relevance to the case.
After concluding Ajoma’s cross-examination, Justice Anenih adjourned proceedings to February 10 for continuation of the trial.
