An Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) witness on Thursday told the Federal High Court in Abuja that Access Bank Plc identified suspicious transaction patterns on an account of business during Yahaya Bello tenure as governor of Kogi state and consequently filed a Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).
Testifying under cross examination, before Justice Emeka Nwite in the ongoing alleged ₦80.2 billion money laundering trial involving former Kogi State Governor, Bello, the EFCC’s seventh prosecution witness (PW7), Olomotane Egoro, a compliance officer with Access Bank, said the bank’s action was triggered by transaction patterns that did not align with the customer’s business profile.
Egoro, who was subpoenaed to testify, was cross-examined by defence counsel, J.B. Daudu, SAN, while the prosecution was led by Kemi Pinheiro, SAN.
According to the witness, Fayzade Business Enterprise received substantial inflows from government accounts purportedly for the supply of materials, but the bulk of the funds were subsequently withdrawn in cash rather than transferred to suppliers.
“From the statement of account, we identified the customer as a government contractor. However, when funds came in from government accounts, most of the money was withdrawn in cash. This does not fit the profile of a government contractor,” Egoro told the court.
He explained that although customers are free to use their funds as they wish, banks are under a statutory obligation to report transactions that fall outside a customer’s established profile or fit recognised money laundering typologies.
“My testimony is that customers can use their money as they deem fit, but the bank has a reporting obligation where transactions do not fit the customer profile or fall under money laundering typologies,” he said.
Under cross-examination, Egoro acknowledged that several cash withdrawals, including those made between May and December 2022 amounting to over ₦582 million, were within the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) approved cash withdrawal thresholds.
However, he stressed that regulatory compliance does not eliminate the duty to report suspicious transaction patterns.
“Even when withdrawals are within threshold, the bank must report where the pattern is unusual,” he maintained.
Egoro confirmed that Access Bank filed an STR with the NFIU, noting that by law, the contents of such reports cannot be disclosed in open court.
He added that the report was prepared by the bank’s compliance team and that he neither prepared nor signed it.
Efforts by the defence to establish who the STR was filed against were halted following an advice by Justice Nwite ruling that questions relating to documents not before the court were inappropriate.
The witness further clarified that not all cash withdrawals are suspicious and that outflows accompanied by clear, commercially justifiable explanations are generally not flagged.
However, he described the overall withdrawal pattern by Fayzade Business Enterprise as “worrisome.”
Egoro also admitted that he did not know the purpose or business relationship behind several large transfers, including payments totalling over ₦86.5 million to Ejadamas Essence Limited in September 2022 and another ₦54.3 million transaction in August 2022.
Crucially, the witness confirmed that none of the transactions reviewed mentioned Yahaya Bello as a beneficiary, nor was Bello a signatory to any of the accounts examined.
“There is no mention of Yahaya Bello in any of the transactions,” Egoro said, adding that Bello did not serve as a local government chairman in Kogi State.
He further confirmed that several other accounts reviewed during the investigation , including those of E-Trader International Limited, Keyless Nature Limited, Westwood, and Aizma Business Enterprise , also bore no reference to the former governor.
The court also admitted additional Certified True Copies (CTCs) of records from another court, following the resolution of objections relating to payment receipts.
Another witness, Gabriel Och’che, a compliance officer with First City Monument Bank (FCMB).
Och’che, led in evidence by prosecution counsel, the Witness Eight (PW8) on subpoenaed presented documents in compliance with the court’s directive.
The witness confirmed that he brought the requested statements of account, which were admitted as Exhibit 37.
According to him, the statement covered transactions between 29 June 2021 and 31 December 2024 and contained columns showing the date, transaction description, value date, withdrawals, and account balance among others .
While examining the entries, the prosecution drew the witness’s attention to transactions on 15 December 2021, which Och’che said showed a ₦100 million NIP transfer from Keyless Nature Limited into the account.
He further identified another inflow on 17 December 2021, describing it as a ₦400 million RTGS transfer from Access Bank, also made on the instruction of Keyless Nature Limited.
The witness told the court that subsequent transactions included transfers from Access Bank on behalf of Keyless Nature Limited to Kum Fayakum Global Limited, as well as payments to American International School and Abdul Bashir.
He also confirmed a further transfer of ₦16 million from Kum Fayakum Global Limited to American International School.
Och’che testified that on 2 November 2021, there was a ₦10 million web transfer from Gadankaya Global Concept to Kum Fayakum Global Limited, adding that the records reflected three separate inflows from the same source.
According to him, the fourth transaction on that date was an outflow of ₦34 million to American International School and China/Abdul Bashir.
The FCMB compliance officer further informed the court that on 18 February 2022, the account received multiple inflows of ₦100 million each from Ejadam (Ejadamas) Essence Limited.
“In total, ₦600 million was received on 18 February 2022 from Ejadam Essence Limited into the account of Kum Fayakum Global Limited,” the witness said.
After prosecuting counsel leading the witness in testifying, judge adjourned to March, 3 and 9 and for continuation of trial .