A witness for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) told the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday that no funds from the Kogi State Government were traced to the American International School, Abuja (AISA), in respect of school fees payment for former Governor Yahaya Bello’s children.

Bello is facing a 19-count charge bordering on money laundering, fraud, and the misappropriation of public funds amounting to N80.2bn.

Testifying before Justice Emeka Nwite, the witness, Nicholas Ojehomon, an internal auditor at AISA, stated during cross-examination by Bello’s counsel, Joseph Daudu, that there were no records indicating any wire transfers from the Kogi State Government or its local government areas into the school’s account.

He further confirmed that Yahaya Bello’s name did not appear on the list of parents who made payments or in any of the transaction records examined.

Earlier in the proceedings, Justice Nwite dismissed an objection raised by the EFCC regarding the admissibility of a previous judgment delivered by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court.

The ruling had favoured the Bello family in a dispute over $1.6m paid to the school.

Justice Nwite held that the EFCC’s objection was premature and deemed the judgment relevant and admissible under Sections 102 and 104 of the Evidence Act, marking it as Exhibit 19.

The EFCC, through its counsel Kemi Pinhero, had argued that the defence could not tender such a document before the prosecution had closed its case.

However, Daudu countered that the admissibility of documents is governed by their relevance, not by the stage at which they are presented. The court agreed, ruling that the prosecution’s objection was speculative and that the relevance of the document could not be ignored.

Further into the cross-examination, Ojehomon confirmed that Yahaya Bello’s name did not appear in any correspondence or authorisation letters regarding the payment of $760,910 to AISA. He disclosed that the school had a contractual agreement with Bello’s brother, Ali Bello, concerning the tuition and advance payments for future enrollment of younger children.

The payments in question, totaling $1,606,763.68, were made in two parts: one covering current tuition and another serving as an advance to secure admission slots for younger children starting in August 2022. Ojehomon confirmed that AISA later refunded $760,910.84 to the EFCC.

The FCT High Court judgment admitted as evidence emphasised that AISA was not under any court order to refund the money and that the payments were made based on a contractual agreement with the Bello family. The court ruled that the school could not legally transfer any portion of the fees to a third party, including the EFCC, without a valid court order.

Justice Nwite subsequently adjourned the matter to May 9, 2025, for the continuation of the trial.