Jamilu Abdullahi, a Bureau de Change, BDC, operator, has revealed how he exchanged naira brought to him by agents of Kogi State Government for the payment of school fees of the daughters of former governor, Yahaya Bello to dollars.

Abdullahi revealed this while speaking as the third prosecution witness in the trial of Ali Bello, on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, before Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja on 18-count charges of money laundering and misappropriation to the tune of over N3 billion by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

In a cross-examination by Ali Bello’s counsel, A.M. Aliyu SAN, Abdullahi affirmed that a dollar equivalent in cash was exchanged for each tranche of naira brought to him: “I made it clear that it was cash that was brought to my office for payment of the school fees,” he said,

An effort by the defence to evaluate a WhatsApp conversation between the witness and the second defendant, Abba Adaudu as evidence, was objected to by prosecution counsel Abbas Mohammed, who argued that the copy of the WhatsApp conversation was unknown to the court.
Consequently, the defence requested an adjournment to enable it to furnish the prosecution with the WhatsApp chat.

Justice Egwuatu granted the request and adjourned the matter till November 6, 2024 for continuation of trial.

Ali Bello, cousin to Yahaya Bello is being prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, alongside Adaudu, Yakubu Adabenege and Iyada Sadat.

An Abuja High Court on Tuesday adjourned until Nov. 11, hearing in a motion filed by a former governor of Taraba, Darius Ishaku, challenging jurisdiction to hear the alleged N27 billion fraud preferred against him.

Ishaku and a former  Permanent Secretary of Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Bello Yero were arraigned on a -15- count charge by the Economic and financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Justice Sylvanus Oriji adjourned the matter after both counsel to the defendants told the court that they had filed preliminary objections before the court.

Justice Oriji adjourned until Nov. 13 for hearing of the two motions.

At the resumed hearing of the matter , Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, the prosecution counsel told the court that the matter was slated for trial.

He however told the court that he was served with preliminary objections by both counsel for the defendants.

“The defence counsel knew very well that the case was slated for today as agreed by all the parties on Oct. 3.

”They filed these motions on the day of the trial thereby scuttling the matter.

”I seek the court’s direction. If I am allowed, I will address the court in 30 minutes but if it is adjournment, I will abide by the court ‘s direction ” he told the court.

Responding , P.H Ogbole, the first defence counsel told the court that he served the motion on the prosecution only Monday.

” We were aware of today’s date but in the cause of our research, we filed the motion which borders on jurisdiction.

”I am not sure that the matter will likely go on today because we will also want him to reply” he told the court.

Similarly, Adeola Adedipe , SAN, the second defence counsel told the court that his motion was served on Nov. 1.

”There is no intention to scuttle the trial.

”The prosecution can not reply orally like that except in some special circumstances which this is not one” he said.

“On the face of the motion marked M/ 14609/24, the 2nd defendant contended that this Honourable court lacks jurisdiction to entertain this charge, for incompetence and lack of substantive, procedural and territorial jurisdiction,” he said.

In the copy of the charge sheet dated Sept. 27, marked CR/792/24, the EFCC accused the defendants of diverting the sum of N1,010,000,000 to their personal use between Aug. 25, 2015, and March 21, 2016, in Abuja.

The agency said the amount formed part of the 2.5 per cent contingency funds belonging to the Bureau of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.

The EFCC noted that the duo committed an offence contrary to Section 315 of the Penal Code A, Cap 532, Laws of the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria 2007 and punishable under the same section.

Ishaku and Yero were also accused of diverting an aggregate sum of N1, 1 billion which formed part of the 2.5 per cent contingency fund belonging to the Bureau of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs between July 2015 and May 2019.

Also, between Sept. 3, 2015, and Jan. 29, 2018, in Abuja, the defendants were accused of diverting the sum of N761 million to defray the loan of N1bn granted by Zenith Bank Plc. to your company, Worthy Construction Limited.

They however, pleaded not guilty to the allegations levelled against them.

They were admitted to bail on Oct. 3, in the sum of N150 million each with two sureties in like amount, one of whom must be a federal government employee and must be a Director.

The judge ordered  that the two sureties must be resident in the FCT with their house addresses to be verified by the Registrar of the Court.

The court also barred from travelling out of the country except with the permission of the judge.

(NAN)

The Managing Director of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), Dr Akintunde Sawyerr, on Tuesday, said the agency has disbursed N11billion as loans to 90,000 students in six months.

Sawyerr disclosed this during an oversight visit by the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND led by its chairman Senator Muntari Dandutse, in Abuja.

He said that fees and stipends for over 90,000 students have been paid.

He said: “Three hundred students have been deemed to qualify for the loans. The gap between those that have qualified and those in benefit of the loan is that we have to go through a rigorous process to ensure we are not  giving money to the wrong people.”

Sawyerr said that from the N96 billion earmarked for students’ loans, about N11 billion has been disbursed to the 90, 000 students across the country.

He said: “That figure, N96 billion, is the loan committed to. It’s not the disbursed figure. We have disbursed just below N11 billion.

“The rest of it is going to be disbursed over the next few weeks to students until it gets to that 96 billion.”

He noted that the loan was in two categories; the Institutional Loan and the Upkeep Loan adding that students don’t have to apply for either loan.

“They don’t have to apply for either loan. However, they can only apply for the upkeep loan if they have applied for the institutional loan and received it.

“The institutional loan is the primary loan that allows them to access education.

“Once they have accessed that loan and they get that, they can also get the upkeep but they can’t get the upkeep on its own because upkeep is tied to going to school”.

Sawyerr said that the agency was determined to change the lives of students through the Renewed Hope mandate of President Bola Tinubu-led administration.

He said that in terms of the geo-political zones’ spread of the disbursement, 12 per cent of students from the North-central have benefited from the facility.

“The North-east, 26 per cent have benefited; the North-west, 38 per cent; South-east, about 10 per cent; South-south, about 4 per cent and the South-west, 13 per cent.

“These numbers have doubled since we’ve been there. So, we are monitoring it month by month,” Sawyerr said.

On the loan repayment modalities, Sawyerr said that it has been made very easy in that the programme is not a profit-making activity for the Fund.

“This is a profit-making activity for the nation. Therefore, we have tried to put  in soft terms, so that people will not be discouraged from going to school”.

He said that the repayment was for two years after the mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) if they have a job.

“The onus is on the employer to pay on their behalf or to take money from their salaries”.