A prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, and two others before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), David Ajoda, on Friday told the court that the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service (KSIRS) paid the sum of N1,164,929,569 as commission to a tax consultant between January and August 2019.
Bello is being prosecuted before Justice Maryanne Anenih, sitting in Maitama, Abuja, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), alongside Umar Shuaibu Oricha and Abdulsalam Hudu, on behalf of the Federal Government.
The suit, marked FCT/HC/CR/778/24, contains a 16-count charge bordering on breach of trust to the tune of N110,446,470,089.
The former governor and his co-defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against them by the anti-corruption commission.
Led in evidence-in-chief at the resumed hearing by the prosecuting counsel, Professor Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, the witness, a compliance officer with Sterling Bank Plc, told the court that the tax consultant withdrew N952.4 million from the account with Sterling Bank within the same eight-month period, leaving a balance of N212,525,569.
According to the prosecution witness, the multiple withdrawals from the account were made by one Phillip Kuma, and the relevant bank documents were tendered through him by Pinheiro.
He, however, admitted that he did not know the details of the tax consultancy arrangement between KSIRS and the consultant, adding that the withdrawals followed a similar pattern.
The witness further told the court that prior to the engagement of the consulting company, the account had over N2 million. He added that cash inflows into the account increased after the engagement.
When asked by Pinheiro whether some of the withdrawals exceeded the maximum limits prescribed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the witness said, “From the statement of account before me, I can see multiple cash withdrawals with the maximum of N10 million.”
Asked whether Sterling Bank filed a Suspicious Transaction Report (STR), the witness replied, “I believe the bank did, but I do not have that information.”
Under cross-examination by counsel for Yahaya Bello and Umar Shuaibu Oricha, Joseph Daudu, SAN, the witness admitted that the name “Kogi State Government” did not feature in the bank transactions.
He also confirmed that the account whose statement was tendered belonged to a Sterling Bank customer, adding that customers are allowed to make withdrawals unhindered, provided such withdrawals comply with stipulated laws.
According to him, under CBN regulations, the maximum withdrawal limit per transaction is N5 million for individuals and N10 million for corporate bodies.
In the case of the consultancy company, the witness told the court that it did not breach CBN withdrawal regulations through the multiple withdrawals and, as such, no suspicious activity report was made against the company.
He further stated that he had no record of any Cash Transaction Report (CTR) or Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) filed on the account.
Ajoda also admitted that the names of Yahaya Bello and his co-defendants did not appear in the account statement as beneficiaries of any of the withdrawals made by the company.
When asked whether there was any difference between the Kogi State Government and the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service, the witness said the two were separate entities.
Responding to questions from counsel for Hudu, A.M. Aliyu, SAN, the witness said the bank never blocked the company’s account, nor were the withdrawals by Kuma considered improper.
“There is nothing wrong with the withdrawals of cash by Philip Kuma,” he told the court.
He added that while Kuma did not withdraw more than N1 million prior to the KSIRS transfers, he later made multiple withdrawals totalling about N950 million between January and August 2019.
Meanwhile, Justice Anenih adjourned the case until February 10 for further hearing.