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Court declines EFCC’s plea to cross-examine witness in Bello’s trial
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A Federal High Court in Abuja has declined a request by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to cross-examine its witness in the ongoing trial of former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello for alleged money laundering.
In a ruling yesterday, Justice Emeka Nwite held that there was no legal provision that allowed the court to permit the prosecution to re-examine its witness in the manner proposed by the anti-graft agency’s lawyer, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN).
Justice Nwite said: “I must agree with the learned counsel to the defendant that the EFCC can only cross-examine its witness after it has declared such a witness hostile. The argument of the learned counsel to the prosecution is misconceived.
“This honourable court is not shutting the prosecution from re-examining the witness but must restrict itself to pages 1, 14 and 15 of Exhibit 19 where issues were addressed by the defence.
“The prosecution is not allowed to re-examine the witness outside the pages prescribed.”
The witness, Nicholas Ojehomon, said to be an Internal Auditor at the American International School, Abuja (AISA), is the third prosecution witness. He had, at the last hearing, said there was no wire transfer of fees from the Kogi State Government or any of the local governments in the state to the account of the school.
Under cross-examination by the defence, Ojehomon was made to read out a part of an earlier judgment by a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) where the court held, among others, that there was no court order for AISA to return the fees paid for Bello’s children to the EFCC.
The court averred that there was no judgment declaring the money as proceeds of money laundering.
During yesterday’s proceedings, the prosecution called another witness, Mshelia Arhyel Bata, a Compliance Officer with Zenith Bank.
Bata, who was subpoenaed, confirmed that certificates of identification were attached to the statements of accounts provided by the bank in the seven sets of documents presented, as requested in a subpoena.
The court admitted the statements of account of the Kogi State Government House Administration and six others as exhibits.
The witness told the court the withdrawal limits allowed for individuals, corporate organisations, and government, adding that before the cashless policy, it was pegged at N10 million for government and N500,000 for individuals.
Pinheiro drew the witness’e attention to the transaction of May 23, 2016 on one of the statements of account, which was a transaction under the name Abdulsalami Hudu.
Upon request by Pinheiro that he explain the transaction, the witness said: “It is a cash withdrawal of N10 million under the then maximum threshold allowed for cheque withdrawal per transaction.”
Bata said there were nine cash transactions on the same date.
On the credit transactions of January 30, 2018 the witness confirmed that there were 10 separate credit transactions of various sums, totalling N1.092 billion.
When asked to mention the total amount of withdrawals, the defence lawyer, Joseph Daudu (SAN) and told the court that the prosecuting lawyer knew that the transactions were for a security vote.
The witness aggregated the total amount of withdrawals to N1.968 billion, saying they were on different dates.
He also read out the inflow and outflow between the second of May 2018, and May 19, 2018.
After the conclusion of the prosecuting lawyer’s examination of the witness, Justice Nwite adjourned till today for the defence lawyer to cross-examine the witness.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, has slashed its fuel pump price for the second time within four days.
A market survey on Saturday by DAILY POST showed that NNPCL retail outlets around Airport Junction and Wuse Zone 6 (Berger) in Abuja have reduced their petrol price to N1210 per litre, down from N1260.
This means that the state-owned oil firm slashed the petrol price by N50 per litre.
This comes barely two days after Dangote Refinery reduced its petrol gantry price by N50 to N1,125 per litre.
Recall that four days ago, NNPCL had adjusted its fuel price pump by N75 per litre to N1260.
With the latest drop by NNPCL retail outlets, petrol prices stand between N1210 per litre and N1305 per litre in Abuja and its environs.
The reduction in domestic fuel comes amid falling crude oil prices, which stand at $69 per barrel and $71 per barrel for West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude, respectively, following the easing of the conflict in the Middle East.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu has kept mum amid the clamour by Nigerians for a commensurate drop in domestic fuel pump prices due to the significant reduction in crude oil prices.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has said it is yet to receive the Certified True Copy, CTC, of the Federal High Court judgment that set aside an earlier order directing it to register the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, as a political party.
INEC revealed this in a statement issued on Saturday by its Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the Chairman, Adedayo Oketola.
According to the commission, although it is aware of media reports on the judgment delivered by the Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja on June 26, it cannot comment on the ruling until it obtains and reviews the certified copy.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, is aware of reports circulating in the media regarding the judgment delivered on Friday, June 26, 2026, by the Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja, which set aside an earlier order concerning the registration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress.
“However, as of this moment, the Commission has not yet received the Certified True Copy, CTC, of the court’s order,” the statement said.
INEC stated that its legal department would study the judgment upon receipt of the CTC before advising the commission on the next course of action.
“Once the Commission’s legal department receives and thoroughly studies the CTC of the judgment, INEC will take an informed, lawful decision in line with the court’s directives.
“Until then, we cannot comment on the specifics of the ruling, and the public is urged to await the Commission’s formal position on the matter,” Oketola added.
Justice Isah Dashen of the Federal High Court in Lokoja had on Friday set aside the court’s December 10, 2025, judgment directing INEC to register the NDC as a political party.
The court held that the rights of the Peace Movement Party were affected by the earlier judgment because it was not joined in the suit despite claiming ownership of the logo relied upon in securing the registration order.
Justice Dashen consequently ordered that all parties be restored to the positions they occupied before the December 2025 judgment and directed that the substantive suit be heard afresh with all necessary parties joined.
The NDC has rejected the ruling and announced plans to appeal the decision. Its National Chairman, Senator Moses Cleopas, maintained that the party had not been deregistered and argued that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to revisit a matter on which it had already delivered a final judgment.
The ruling has also attracted reactions from opposition figures, including the NDC’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, the party’s National Leader, Senator Henry Dickson, and other stakeholders, who described the decision as a threat to Nigeria’s multiparty democracy and vowed to challenge it through all available legal channels.
INEC, however, maintained that it would reserve its position on the judgment until it receives and reviews the Certified True Copy.
A joint police operation rescued five victims abducted near Ogbere Forest in Ogun state on Wednesday.
They were rescued within 25 hours by the Lagos and Ogun Police Commands, which were part of a joint operation codenamed KOSAYE, meaning “No Space” in Yoruba.
The woman was among the victims who were shot in the incident. Her daughter and sister were among those rescued by the police on Thursday.
NNPC slashes petrol price twice within four days
Lokoja Court order: INEC speaks on NDC, says it’s yet to receive CTC
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