Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Maitama, Abuja, has postponed the trial of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, over an alleged N80.2 billion fraud.
The case was adjourned to October 7 and 10, 2025.
The hearing on Thursday was supposed to continue the cross-examination of the fourth prosecution witness, Aryan Mashelia Bata, who works as a Compliance Officer at Zenith Bank. However, the witness was absent because he was attending mandatory training.
Prosecution lawyer, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), told the court that both the judge and the defence team had been informed about the witness’s absence ahead of time.
He said, “We planned to continue with the cross-examination today, but due to the witness’s training, we couldn’t proceed. We have discussed new dates with the defence, depending on the court’s schedule.”
Pinheiro suggested continuing on the afternoon of October 6, but defence lawyer, Abubakar Aliyu (SAN), disagreed with that date. Instead, he proposed October 7 and 10, or other dates in November.
Aliyu also informed the court that the defence had filed a motion over a publication on the EFCC’s website, which he said could affect the fairness of the trial. He asked for the motion to be heard on October 7.
Justice Nwite agreed and adjourned the case to October 7 and 10 for further cross-examination and to hear the defence’s motion. He also fixed November 8 and 9 for continuation of the trial.
Yahaya Bello, who was governor from 2016 to 2024, is facing several charges of money laundering, abuse of office, and mismanagement of public funds. The EFCC claims he misused over N80.2 billion while in office.
Bello has denied all the allegations and has been in ongoing legal disputes with the EFCC regarding the case. The trial is being closely followed across Nigeria as a major test of the country’s efforts to fight corruption among top public officials.
