Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court on Thursday adjourned proceedings in the alleged money laundering trial of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, to April 24, 2026, to rule on a contentious application by the prosecution seeking to re-present a witness’s prior statement.
The adjournment followed arguments between counsel over whether the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) could confront its 12th prosecution witness with an earlier statement already admitted as Exhibit 46.
Counsel to the defendant, Joseph Daudu, SAN, objected to the move by prosecution counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, insisting that the prosecution must first obtain leave of court to declare the witness hostile before attempting to contradict his testimony.
Daudu argued that the witness, Abdullahi Jamilu, owner of Kumfayakum Global Limited, had clearly stated in court that he delivered converted funds only at designated offices in Abuja, and that any attempt to rely on his prior statement to challenge that evidence without due procedure was improper.
“My Lord, counsel cannot contradict or augment the witness’s oral evidence with prior statements without first declaring him hostile,” Daudu submitted, citing provisions of the Evidence Act and the Supreme Court decision in Ibe v. State (1997).
In response, Pinheiro maintained that the prosecution’s intention was not to discredit its witness but to refresh his memory, noting that the transactions in question dated back to 2022.
He relied on Section 239 of the Evidence Act, which permits a witness to consult prior statements to aid recollection.
The defence, however, rejected that position, arguing that the authorities cited were inapplicable and that the prosecution’s approach amounted to an indirect attempt to impeach its own witness.
Justice Nwite, after hearing both sides, adjourned to rule on whether the prosecution can lawfully re-present the exhibit and proceed with further examination.
Earlier in his testimony, the witness denied making cash deposits at a Lokoja branch of Access Bank, though he acknowledged that his name might have appeared in transaction narrations.
He attributed the deposits to one Abba Adaudu, stating that he merely converted the funds into United States dollars and handed them over as instructed.
He also confirmed receiving multiple inflows into Kumfayakum Global Limited’s account, including N100 million and N400 million transfers in December 2021 from Keyless Nature Limited, which he identified as belonging to Adaudu, as well as a February 2022 inflow from Ejadams Essence Limited.
