09/04/2025
Alleged N3bn Fraud: How Kogi State LG Funds were Laundered-Witness
The Sixth Prosecution Witness, PW6, Remigius Egu in the trial of Ali Bello, Yakubu Isiaka Adabenege, Abba Adaudu and Iyada Sadat on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, narrated before Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court, sitting in Maitama, Abuja, how funds belonging to various Local Government Areas, LGAs, of Kogi State were allegedly diverted and laundered through private accounts.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC is prosecuting the quartet on 18-count charges, bordering on money laundering and misappropriation of public funds to the tune of over N3 billion.
Bello, the first defendant is nephew of the former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello as well as the current Chief of Staff to Kogi State Governor, Usman Ododo.
Led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, the witness, a Compliance Officer with Zenith Bank identified documents marked “Exhibits E and E1” as having originated from Zenith Bank. He also confirmed that a letter dated March 16, 2022, addressed to the EFCC Zonal Commander, pertained to an account belonging to a customer, Adabenege, the second defendant, and contained transaction evidence from the bank.
In his breakdown of the transactions, the witness told the court that multiple inflows of large sums of money from several Kogi State LGAs were traced to the account of Korforte Concept Limited on October 4, 2023. These he said were as follows: Ogori Magongo LGA: N14,844,640.57; Ibeji LGA: N18,629,944.51; Adavi LGA: N20,887,557.54; Kogi LGA: N17,929.59; Kabba/Bunu LGA: N18,460,569.12; Ajaokuta LGA: N22,764,334.70; Okene LGA: 20,758,710.37; Yagba West LGA: N18,234,063.61; Ofu LGA: N21,368,633.69. “My Lord, all the inflows were received on October 4, 2023,” he said.
Before the inflows, the witness disclosed that the balance in the Korforte Concept Limited account was a mere N7,370 (Seven Thousand, Three Hundred and Seventy Naira) and that on the
