The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Wednesday, called its first witness to testify in the 16-count money laundering charge it preferred against the immediate past governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello.
The witness, Fabian Nwaora, a real estate businessman, mounted the box to give his evidence-in-chief in the matter after Justice Maryann Anenih overruled an objection the former governor and his co-defendants raised against the commencement of their trial.
The defendants had through their respective lawyers, contended that the EFCC failed to furnish them with some of the proof of evidence that would be relied on in their prosecution.
However, Justice Anenih declined to adjourn the case, noting that there was no formal application from the defendants to support their objection.
Meanwhile, in his testimony, the witness, who is the owner of EFAB property, narrated to the court, how his company, in 2020, sold a property situated at No 1 Ikobosi Street, Maitama Abuja, to one Shehu Bello for the sum of N550 million.
According to the witness, sometime in 2023, Bello returned all the documents relating to the property and informed his company that the EFCC was being investigated by the EFCC.
