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Yahaya Bello Vs EFCC: Court Adjourns Ruling and Continuation of Trials to June 26 , 27 and July 4 and 5
You cannot cross examine him based on the document,” Daudu SAN argued. Enitan SAN added that he had the right to draw the attention of the court to some specific paragraphs in the document.
The Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned the hearing of the alleged money laundering case instituted against the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to June 26, 27 and July 4 and 5 for ruling on the request by the prosecution to “cross-examine” the 3rd witness and for continuation of trial.
Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned the hearing after listening to addresses by the prosecution and defence counsels on the Prosecution’s move to initially cross-examine the witness, a position that was rejected by the Defendant’s Counsel, Joseph Daudu, SAN.
When the matter was called for continuation of cross-examination, the Defendant’s counsel asked the witness, Nicholas Ojehomon, whether he had testified in other courts with respect to the issue of school fees paid by the Bello family to AISA, he said yes.
But the witness, an internal auditor at the American International School, Abuja, said he could not mention the exact courts.
He admitted testifying in a similar charge involving Ali Bello but added that he never said anything adversely against former Governor Yahaya Bello just as he had not said anything negative or adversely against him in the instant charge.
After Daudu SAN concluded the cross-examination of the witness, Nicholas Ojehomon, the EFCC’s lawyer, Olukayode Enitan, SAN, moved to also cross-examine the Commission’s witness on Exhibit 19.
He told the court that he was not re-examining the EFCC’s witness, but cross-examining him because the document was admitted in evidence.
“I am not re-examining him, I am cross-examining him because they brought this document,” he said.
The Defendant’s lawyer, however, drew the court’s attention to the fact that the prosecution counsel’s position was unknown to law, in line with the Evidence Act.
“If you want to cross-examine your own witness, you have to first declare him a hostile witness. You cannot cross examine him based on the document,” Daudu SAN argued. Enitan SAN added that he had the right to draw the attention of the court to some specific paragraphs in the document.
At this point, the judge asked: “Do you have any provision of the law to support this?””I will draw your lordship attention to Section 36 of the Constitution.
They sought to tender this document, we objected and the court granted their prayer. Fair hearing demands that the complainant too has the right to examine this because Section 36 of the Constitution talks of fair hearing,”
Enitan responded. “We are not saying that they cannot re-examine the witness. That is what Section 36 under the law says about fair hearing. But if it is to cross-examine him, he will have to show us the law that backs that.
“He cannot come under the guise of fair hearing to want to cross-examine the witness,” the Defendant’s lawyer maintained. The judge, at the end of the arguments, refused to allow cross-examination of the witness by the EFCC lawyer.”
Under the procedure, the witness gives evidence in chief and the defendant cross examines, then the prosecution re-examines.
“With due respect, what I will do is if you people are so skewed to continue with this, it is better to address me on this and I will take a position,” he stated.
At this point, the prosecution counsel agreed to re-examine the EFCC’s witness and the judge gave him the go-ahead.”You can re-examine him on that but not to ask questions that will show cross examination,” Justice Nwite said.
However, when the prosecution lawyer proceeded to re-examine the witness, and his questions pointed at cross-examination, as observed by Daudu SAN, the judge insisted that the parties had to address him on the specific issue.
The Defendant’s Counsel, in his address, maintained that the position was unknown to law.
“My lord, the procedure that is being sought by the prosecution by refering the witness to the document tender in Exhibit 19 and by asking him to read paragraph 1, without drawing his attention to the issue on how the document affected his evidence in chief, the question asked in cross-examination, and the ambiguity, which needs clarification, amounts to a strange and unknown procedure not covered by the Evidence Act,” he stated.
Enitan SAN, disagreed, saying that in the case of Amobi Amobi referred to by the defendant’s counsel, the Supreme Court held that the learned trial judge ought to have allowed a re-examination of Exhibit E.
He said when the defendant sought to introduce the document, the prosecution team “submitted that this document was not made by the witness and as such, he should not be allowed to speak to it under cross examination or allowed to be confronted with it.”
“Having brought it in now, during the case of the prosecution, particularly during the cross examination of PW-3, your lordship should not allow them to shut us out as that would amount to the court allowing them to blow hot and cold,” Pinheiro SAN said.
Justice Nwite thereafter adjourned to June 26, 27 and July 4 and 5 for ruling and continuation of trial.
The 3rd prosecution witness had, at the last hearing on Thursday, said there was no wired transfer of fees from the Kogi State Government or any of the local Governments in the state to the account of the American International School, Abuja.
He also read out a part of a previous Federal Capital Territory High Court judgment that said there was no court order for AISA to return fees to EFCC or any judgment declaring the money as proceeds of money laundering.
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Atiku’s Media Aide, Ifeanyi Izeze is Dead
The media office said that further details about Izeze’s burial would be made public by his family.
Atiku Media Office has announced the death of Ifeanyi Izeze, a member of the media team of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
In the statement , Izeze a prominent and pioneer member of the ex-VP’s media team died on Sunday.
“Ifeanyi Izeze joined the media team of the then Vice President Atiku Abubakar in 2006, from Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON), Ikot-Abasi as the Office Manager.
He brought to bear on the work of the media team at that critical stage of Atiku’s political career, his wealth of experience in the media, Niger Delta and Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
Izeze trained as a geologist at the University of Port Harcourt up to postgraduate level, but carved a niche in journalism where he reported and wrote extensively on oil and gas industry in Nigeria for many years in the defunct Sunray, Anchor, and NewAge newspapers among others, before he joined ALSCON.
In the Atiku Media Office, Ifeanyi was a senior member of the team and its pioneer Office Manager who helped shape the campaign policies of the Atiku Presidential Campaigns in the Niger Delta, particularly in the oil and gas sectors,” the statement further reads.
Atiku Media Office described the deceased as a man with a prodigious sense of humour and a born-again Christian of the Christ Embassy.
The media office said that further details about Izeze’s burial would be made public by his family.
He left behind children, grandchildren and an elder and only surviving brother, Pastor Emeka Izeze of the Guardian Newspapers fame
...Vows Tariff Relief on Newsprint and Equipment. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has thrown the full weight of his administration behind Nigeria’s media industry in its escalating fight against Big Tech’s dominance, unfair content usage, and crippling economic pressures, while promising to slash or eliminate import tariffs on essential production materials.
Speaking at a high-level interfaith dinner held at the State House on Friday, March 13, 2026, the President described the Nigerian press as an “indispensable partner” in the country’s drive for economic recovery, democratic consolidation, and national unity.
“We will help dismantle the fiscal hurdles and digital cannibalisation currently threatening the survival of the press,” Tinubu declared, assuring the delegation that his government is actively reviewing the national tariff exemption list.
Among the items under consideration for zero or reduced duty (currently 5–10%) are newsprint, printing plates, chemicals, and broadcast equipment for radio and television—materials the media sector has long argued should receive the same preferential treatment as educational and research imports.
“You have the government’s full support, because we know how important your work is to the sustenance of democracy,” the President told representatives of the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO) and other leading industry bodies.
The closed-door meeting brought together a powerful cross-section of Nigeria’s media leadership, including:
– Lady Maiden Alex-Ibru, NPO President and Publisher of The Guardian
– Frank Aigbogun, NPAN Deputy President and Publisher of BusinessDay (who delivered the industry’s joint address)
– Aremo Olusegun Osoba (Vanguard)
– Sam Amuka (THISDAY/ARISE News)
– Prince Nduka Obaigbena (Channels Television)
– Dr John Momoh, Director-General of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA)
– Leaders of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), among others.
In his presentation, Aigbogun accused unnamed global tech platforms widely understood to include Google and Meta of systematically “scraping” Nigerian journalistic content, frequently breaching paywalls, to train artificial intelligence models without compensation.
He claimed these practices are depriving local media houses of up to 70% of their legitimate advertising and syndication revenue losses running into hundreds of millions of dollars annually while triggering widespread job losses across newsrooms.
Aigbogun called on the President to instruct the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to launch a formal investigation, in partnership with media stakeholders, into Big Tech’s alleged anti-competitive behaviour.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, told the gathering that preliminary engagements with major tech companies, including Meta and Google, are already in progress.
“The government will not allow anybody to come here, reap from our economy, and go away without giving back,” Idris said firmly.Vice President Kashim Shettima, together with several senior presidential aides, also attended the event.
The State House meeting follows an earlier January 2026 letter and public statement from the NPO highlighting the existential threat posed by unregulated digital platforms to Nigeria’s independent media ecosystem.
Industry observers view the President’s commitments as a potential turning point, offering both short-term cost relief through tariff adjustments and longer-term policy backing in the global push for fair revenue sharing between traditional media and dominant tech intermediaries.
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Senate confirms Oyedele as minister
During the screening, Oyedele proffered solutions to getting out of the various economic issues in the country.
The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Taiwo Oyedele as Minister of State for Finance.
His confirmation comes after two hours of screening as lawmakers grilled him on various aspects of the economy.
Oyedele’s screening followed a motion moved by Opeyemi Bamidele, the Senate leader, after he called for the suspension of the Senate rule to allow strangers to come into the chamber.
During the screening, Oyedele proffered solutions to getting out of the various economic issues in the country.
Oyedele was escorted to the chamber by Bashir Lado, the Special Adviser to the President on the National Assembly ( Senate), alongside others.
His screening followed President Bola Tinubu’s letter to the Senate on Tuesday, requesting his confirmation as a minister.
Tinubu had, on March 3, nominated Oyedele, who currently serves as chairman of the presidential committee on fiscal policy and tax reforms, as Minister of State for Finance.
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