The Federal High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja, on Tuesday adjourned for rule on the admissibility of a Deed of Assignment and an Irrevocable Power of Attorney tendered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the ongoing trial of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Adoza Bello.
Justice Emeka Nwite fixed March 9, for ruling after hearing extensive arguments from counsel on both sides over the admissibility of the documents, which relate to the alleged sale of Plot 1160, Cadastral Zone, Gwarimpa II, Abuja, for N100 million.
Bello is standing trial on a 19-count charge bordering on alleged money laundering involving the sum of N80.2m
The dispute arose when prosecution counsel sought to tender the Deed of Assignment and an Irrevocable Power of Attorney through PW10, Mahmoud Abdulaziz, Chief Accountant of Dantata & Sawoe Construction Limited.
In his testimony, Abdulaziz told the court that the company sold the 8,240.72-square-metre property to Azba Real Estate Limited for N100 million. He said the consideration was paid in tranches: N70 million on February 17, N10 million on February 19, and N20 million on February 22, 2021, via electronic transfers into the company’s account with Keystone Bank.
According to the witness, the payments were made by Maigari Murtala, while the Deed of Assignment was executed between Dantata & Sawoe Construction Limited and Azba Real Estate Limited, and signed by Mubarak Dantata, Nasiru Dantata, and Ali Bello.
He further testified that an Irrevocable Power of Attorney was executed between Mubarak Dantata and Ali Bello, adding that both documents were submitted to the EFCC during investigation.
However, defence counsel objected to the admissibility of the documents, arguing that they were registrable instruments affecting title to land and ought to have been registered.
“My lord, these are registrable land instruments. Only Certified True Copies from the appropriate land registry are admissible,” the defence argued, contending that the EFCC was not the lawful custodian of land documents and that their purported certification offended Section 114 of the Evidence Act.
Responding, prosecution counsel described the objection as a misconception of the law, arguing that the documents were tendered not to establish title to land but to support oral evidence of financial transactions.
“This is a criminal trial for money laundering, not a civil dispute over land ownership. The documents are being tendered to anchor the oral evidence already before the court,” he submitted.
He further argued that a document inadmissible for one purpose may nonetheless be admissible for another, adding that once a private document is submitted to a public officer during investigation, it becomes a public document capable of certification. He cited Audu v. FRN (2025) 5 NWLR (Pt. 1984) 61 in support.
Earlier, the defence informed the court of a pending application seeking leave to vacate an earlier order permitting the defendant to travel for the lesser Hajj. Counsel said parties were engaged in discussions and requested time to report on the outcome.
The prosecution confirmed the discussions and informed the court it would respond to issues relating to an alleged Red Notice, noting that airports in parts of the Middle East were currently closed.
Meanwhile, under cross-examination, PW8, an official of First City Monument Bank (FCMB), confirmed that Exhibit 37 was the statement of account of Kunfayakun Global Limited covering January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2024.
He confirmed several inflows, including N100 million, N400 million (via RTGS), and N600 million, but said he could not determine the purpose of the transactions or the business relationships involved.
PW9, a compliance officer with Polaris Bank, also testified under subpoena. She identified multiple inflows into accounts operated by JIT Limited and SSP Foods Limited in November 2021, totaling several hundreds of millions of naira, but similarly stated under cross-examination that she was not the account officer and had no knowledge of the underlying transactions.
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