Explains why school withheld Bello’s children’s fees
The third prosecution witness in the alleged money laundering case against the immediate past governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, yesterday, admitted before the Federal High Court in Abuja that there was no wired transfer of fees from the state government or any of the local councils in the state to the account of the American International School, Abuja.
The witness, Nicholas Ojehomon, an internal auditor at the American International School, Abuja, during a cross-examination by the defendant’s counsel, Joseph Daudu (SAN), also admitted that there was no transfer bearing the name Yahaya Bello in the documents.
He, however, said that the school retained part of the school fees linked to Bello’s daughters because it represented legitimate tuition fees earned by the institution.
It would be recalled thatJustice Emeka Nwite had earlier rejected the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) objection to the admissibility of a judgment of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in suit number FCT/HC/CV/2574/2023 between Ali Bello and Incorporated Trustees of American International School.
The judge had, at the last hearing, adjourned for ruling on the admissibility of the judgment, which had decided the issue of payment of fees or refund in the ongoing case in favour of the defendant.
In his ruling, the judge said the objection of the prosecution was pre-emptive, adding that the court had since moved away from the platform of technicalities to the platform of substantial justice.
The judge recalled that the EFCC lawyer, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), had, at the last hearing, on March 7, 2025, objected to the admissibility of the documents, saying the trial was a criminal trial and the defendant could not tender documents when the prosecution had not closed its case. He, therefore, urged the court to reject the document.
But Daudu had, however, argued that the admissibility of the document was exclusively by the principle of relevance. In his ruling yesterday, Justice Nwite said: “The issue of tendering documents is governed by the law whether the facts are pleaded, whether the documents are relevant, or whether the documents are admissible.
“Admissibility of documents is strictly guided by the law as far as it satisfies the provisions of Section 102 and 104 of the Evidence Act.
“The question is that at what point can the defendant tender documents?”
Justice Nwite said the court was inclined to agree with counsel to the defendant, noting that the court was already on the platform of substantial justice.
He, therefore, adjourned the case to today, May 9, 2025, for continuation of trial.
