The trial of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, continued on Friday at the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja, with a prosecution witness detailing how the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service (KIRS) allegedly paid more than ₦1.16 billion as “commission” into a Sterling Bank account belonging to one Philip Kumar within eight months in 2019.
Testifying before Justice Maryanne Anineh, Prosecution Witness 9 (PW9), David Ajoma, a compliance officer with Sterling Bank, said the payments, which ran from January to August 2019, were followed by frequent and heavy cash withdrawals that he described as unusual by banking standards.
Bello is standing trial alongside Umar Shuaibu Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu on a 16-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust and money laundering involving an alleged ₦110.4 billion.
At the resumed hearing, lead prosecution counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, told the court that the matter was for the continuation of evidence by PW9, who appeared pursuant to a subpoena. The witness was subsequently led in evidence by the prosecution.
Referring PW9 to Exhibit AD1, a statement of account already admitted in evidence, Pinheiro drew his attention to transactions between March and August 2019. The witness confirmed the entries and, when asked to summarise the inflows within that period, stated that a total of ₦963,803,717.38 was paid into the account from the Kogi State treasury.
On withdrawals from the same account, PW9 told the court that ₦835,904,000 was withdrawn in cash during the same period.
The prosecution then directed the witness to earlier transactions in January and February 2019. PW9 identified inflows of ₦99,593,761.81 on January 8, 2019, and ₦101,533,384.94 on February 7, 2019, both bearing narrations indicating the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service.
Asked to provide a cumulative figure for all payments made as “commission” from January to August 2019, PW9 said: “From the exhibit, Kogi State Internal Revenue Service paid a total of ₦1,164,959,568.13 as commission within eight months in 2019.”
He further told the court that total cash withdrawals between January and August 2019 amounted to ₦953,404,000.
When asked whether there was a consistent pattern of cash withdrawals on the account, PW9 answered in the affirmative. He also confirmed that the withdrawals usually occurred shortly after inflows from Kogi State Government-related accounts.
“Yes, my Lord,” the witness said.
PW9 told the court that as of December 31, 2018, the balance on the account stood at ₦212,264.29. Asked to give his professional opinion on the transaction pattern, he stated: “As a banker, there is a consistent pattern of withdrawals.”
An objection raised by counsel to the 1st and 2nd defendants, J.B. Daudu, SAN, was overruled by Justice Anineh.
The prosecution went on to ask PW9 whether he was familiar with suspicious transactions in banking practice. He answered in the affirmative and explained the concept of a Suspicious Transaction Report (STR).
“A suspicious transaction report is filed when a customer’s transaction pattern is not consistent with the nature of the customer’s business or previous transactions. In other words, it is filed for individuals who carry out cash transactions exceeding ₦5 million and ₦10 million for corporate entities, in line with CBN regulations,” he said.
Based on the statement of account, PW9 said he observed “multiple cash withdrawals, with the maximum single withdrawal being ₦10 million.” However, he added that he did not have information on whether Sterling Bank filed any STR in respect of the account.
Turning to the period before the alleged commission payments, Pinheiro asked the witness to examine transactions between July and December 2018. PW9 confirmed that there were no inflows into the account during that period and that cash withdrawals were minimal.
He listed withdrawals of ₦700,000 in July, ₦500,000 on July 4, ₦500,000 on July 12, ₦150,000 on August 17, ₦200,000 on September 13, and ₦1,000,000 on December 10, 2018. Asked whether there was any withdrawal above ₦1 million within six months before the inflows from Kogi State Government accounts, he replied: “No, as seen from the statement of account.”
PW9 also confirmed that the pattern of withdrawals between July and December 2018 was different from that recorded between January and August 2019, noting that earlier withdrawals were largely online transfers rather than cash.
Under cross-examination, Daudu told the court that PW9 had been with Sterling Bank for three years and was serving as a compliance officer. The witness admitted he did not have the account opening documents and could not identify the signatories, directors or nature of the business linked to the account.
He agreed that without those documents, he could not determine whether the business was seasonal or whether the transaction pattern was consistent with the customer’s line of business, stressing that his testimony was limited to the contents of Exhibit AD1.
On the narrations of the inflows, PW9 said they read “Kogi State transfer” and “KIRS transfer,” adding: “I do not know what it means.” He also acknowledged that he did not know the difference between Kogi State Government and Kogi State Internal Revenue Service.
The witness further agreed that he could not say whether the funds belonged to the customer or how the customer chose to use them, and that there was no record before him showing when the business relationship between the account holder and Kogi State Government began.
“When there is money, there will be consistent withdrawal; when there is no money, there will be consistent no withdrawal,” he said.
Asked whether all the funds were withdrawn solely by Philip Kumar, PW9 said there were other beneficiaries, citing a transfer of ₦2.5 million on January 8, 2019, with the narration “Visco Business Solution / Ayodele Adedipe.”
He told the court that he did not know the first defendant and had never seen any of the defendants before. Counsel to the third defendant, A.M. Aliyu, SAN, also cross-examined the witness.
With no further questions, Justice Anineh discharged PW9 from the witness box and adjourned the case to February 10 and 11, and March 11 and 12, 2026, for continuation of trial.
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