According to the statement released by Dele Oyewale, the Head of Media and Publicity of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdullahi recounted one instance when $300,000 was delivered to him by Daudu, the second defendant, for the purpose of paying the school fees of Yahaya Bello’s daughters.
Abuja, Nigeria — An Abuja-based Bureau de Change operator, Jamilu Abdullahi, has narrated before a Federal High Court in Abuja how he facilitated the payment of school fees for the daughters of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, using cash transactions in dollars.
Abdullahi, the third prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of Ali Bello, the ex-governor’s nephew, alongside Abba Daudu, Yakubu Adabenege, and Iyada Sadat, revealed details of the payments in court on Thursday. The defendants are currently facing 18 charges of money laundering and misappropriation, amounting to over N3 billion.
According to the statement released by Dele Oyewale, the Head of Media and Publicity of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdullahi recounted one instance when $300,000 was delivered to him by Daudu, the second defendant, for the purpose of paying the school fees of Yahaya Bello’s daughters.
“Abba Daudu called me to say that they have a transaction, though it was on the weekend. I drove down to the office and waited for them. Upon their arrival, three of them came. One of them stayed in the car with the driver, while two others walked to my office. A friend of Abba Daudu was holding a black leather bag containing $300,000 in cash,” Abdullahi said.
He continued, “Upon entering, he greeted me, and Abba Daudu introduced him as his friend and business partner, saying they had a transaction. He dropped the $300,000 in cash. I wanted to count the dollars before they left, but I couldn’t due to a power outage. I told him I could not use my hands and needed to confirm that it was $300,000, so I locked the dollars in my office safe, and two of them left.”
Abdullahi explained that after confirming the sum, he received instructions to proceed with the payment. “After I completed the transfer, I forwarded four receipts indicating $75,000 each to Abba Daudu, and he confirmed that the payment was successful,” he added.
The witness also highlighted other transactions made on behalf of Yahaya Bello’s daughters. He confirmed that Aleshua Solutions Services, a company associated with the transactions, paid $42,170 for Naima Ohunene Bello’s school fees on January 24, 2022.
The court was also shown Page One of Exhibit D, which recorded a transaction of $44,675 for Naima Bello. Abdullahi identified the receipt and explained that a total of $44,700 was originally paid, but due to internal bank charges of $25, the final amount stood at $44,675.
The school in question, according to Abdullahi, is the American International School. He noted that these payments were made through his company and were confirmed by the recipients.
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