Alleged ₦80.2bn Kogi Fraud: How ₦3.1bn Kogi LGs Funds Were Lodged into E-traders Account in Eight Months — Witness

Abuja,January 29, 2026

The trial of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Adoza Bello, over the alleged laundering of ₦80.2 billion continued on Thursday before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja, with detailed financial revelations linking local government funds to private company accounts.

At the resumed hearing, Prosecution Witness Seven (PW7), Olomotane Egoro, a compliance officer with Access Bank, continued his testimony for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which is prosecuting Bello on a 19-count charge bordering on money laundering to the tune of ₦80,246,470,088.88.

Led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, Egoro presented a breakdown of transactions involving the accounts of Fazab Business Enterprise and E-traders International Limited, which allegedly received funds traced to several local government councils in Kogi State.
After reminding the witness that he was still under oath, Pinheiro applied that Exhibit 33(8)—the statement of account of Fazab Business Enterprise—be shown to him. The witness was directed to specific inflows recorded on May 6 and May 9, 2022.

Egoro told the court that on May 6, 2022, the Fazab Business Enterprise account received 11 inflows from different Kogi State local government councils, including Yagba East, Yala, Ida and Okene. On May 9, 2022, he said there were three transactions, comprising two inflows from Ibaji and Dekina Local Government Areas.
“Yes, my Lord, I can confirm it came from the two local governments,” Egoro stated when asked to verify the source of the funds.
In summary, the witness said the total inflow on May 6 amounted to ₦103,375,059.73, while the two inflows on May 9 totalled ₦14,563,702.56, bringing the combined sum to ₦117,938,762.29.
Pinheiro further drew the witness’s attention to cash withdrawals that followed shortly after the inflows. Asked to identify the individual who made a ₦10 million cash withdrawal, Egoro replied, “My Lord, it is Yakubu Siyaka A.”
He confirmed that Yakubu Siyaka A. made multiple cash withdrawals on May 9, 10, 11, 13, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 23, 24 and 26, 2022, adding that the total cash withdrawn between May 9 and May 26, 2022, stood at ₦116,600,000.
When asked whether almost the entire inflow of ₦117,938,762.29 received from the local governments in May 2022 was withdrawn in cash, the witness answered, “Yes, my Lord.”
Egoro further testified that by May 31, 2022, only about ₦1,002,289.41 remained in the Fazab Business Enterprise account.

Turning to subsequent months, the witness told the court that inflows from Kogi State local governments continued in June and July 2022. He stated that the total inflow for June was ₦108,793,086.69, while July recorded ₦141,718,056.30, bringing the combined total for both months to ₦250,511,142.99.
According to him, cash withdrawals persisted during the same period, with Yakubu Siyaka A. withdrawing a total of ₦198,900,000 in June and July 2022 alone.
When asked if almost ₦200 million was withdrawn in cash from the inflows of the two months, Egoro responded, “Yes, my Lord, that’s correct.”

The witness further testified that the same pattern of inflows from Kogi State local government councils followed by substantial cash withdrawals continued in August and September 2022, and persisted through October, November and December 2022.
The trial was thereafter adjourned to a later date for the continuation of proceedings.