News
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.
The Federal Government has successfully secured the release of 100 primary and secondary school pupils who were abducted by armed bandits from the Apostolic Faith Group of Schools in Kunnu, Kagara area of Niger State on Thursday, 4 December 2025.
The children – comprising 68 primary school pupils and 32 junior secondary students – were freed in the early hours of Sunday following sustained military and security operations coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) in collaboration with the Niger State Government and local community leaders.
A senior presidency source confirmed to journalists in Abuja that no ransom was paid for the release of the victims, describing the operation as “a decisive victory for the ongoing campaign against terrorism and banditry in the North-West and North-Central zones.
”The source added: “Through a combination of kinetic and non-kinetic measures, including intense pressure from ground troops of Operation Whirl Punch and intelligence-led engagements, the abductors were forced to release the children unharmed.
All 100 students have been accounted for and are currently undergoing medical checks and debriefing at a secure military facility in Minna.
”The students were kidnapped in a dawn raid on the mission school last Thursday when over 50 heavily armed gunmen stormed the premises, overpowered the guards, and herded the pupils into waiting vehicles before fleeing into the vast Kunnu forest spanning Niger and Kaduna states.
The incident had triggered widespread national outrage and renewed calls for decisive action against the escalating wave of school abductions in northern Nigeria.
Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago, who personally received the freed children alongside the Emir of Kagara, Alhaji Salihu Tanko, praised the Federal Government and security forces for their swift response.“I am overjoyed to see our children back alive and in good health.
This is a testament that when all tiers of government and our traditional institutions work together with the security agencies, we can defeat these criminals,” Governor Bago said.
Parents and relatives who had camped at the school premises since Thursday broke into jubilation as the first batch of the rescued pupils arrived under heavy military escort on Sunday afternoon.
The Apostolic Faith Church, which runs the school, issued a brief statement thanking President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the armed forces, and all Nigerians for their prayers and support.
Mop-up operations are still ongoing in the forest to apprehend the fleeing abductors and prevent further attacks during the festive season.
This latest mass rescue comes barely two weeks after 28 students of the Federal College of Agriculture, Bakura, Zamfara State, regained freedom, bringing the total number of schoolchildren freed by security forces in the past one month to over 220.
The Federal Government has reiterated its zero-tolerance policy on ransom payments and vowed to sustain the current momentum until every abducted citizen is brought home safely.
International
BREAKING: Vice President Shettima Arrives in Abidjan for President Ouattara’s Fourth-Term Inauguration
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, to represent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the swearing-in ceremony of President Alassane Ouattara for his fourth term in office.
The inauguration is scheduled for Monday, 8 December 2025, at the Presidential Palace in Abidjan, where Senator Shettima will join other African heads of state, government leaders, and international dignitaries.
President Ouattara secured re-election in the 25 October 2025 presidential poll, extending his leadership of the West African nation, which enjoys long-standing and robust diplomatic ties with Nigeria.
Upon arrival at Félix-Houphouët-Boigny International Airport, Vice President Shettima was received by Côte d’Ivoire’s Prime Minister, Mr. Robert Mambe; Nigeria’s Chargé d’Affaires in Côte d’Ivoire, Mrs. Item Akpama; and other senior Ivorian and Nigerian officials.
The visit underscores Nigeria’s continued commitment to regional solidarity, democratic governance, and constitutional order in West Africa. It also highlights the strong bilateral partnership between Abuja and Abidjan, anchored on cooperation within ECOWAS and the African Union, the Nigeria-Côte d’Ivoire Bi-National Commission, and multiple sectoral agreements spanning security, trade, agriculture, anti-human trafficking efforts, and the digital economy.
A sizeable Nigerian community in Côte d’Ivoire continues to play a vital role in deepening people-to-people and commercial links between the two countries.Vice President Shettima is expected to return to Abuja immediately after the inauguration ceremony.
The Nigerian Army has indefinitely suspended all statutory and voluntary retirements for hundreds of officers, citing the nationwide security emergency declared by President Bola Tinubu on November 26.
The directive, contained in an internal memo dated December 3 and signed by Maj. Gen. E. I. Okoro on behalf of the Chief of Army Staff, aims to preserve critical manpower and experience as the Armed Forces rapidly expand to tackle escalating insecurity.
November saw over 600 mass abductions, including more than 300 schoolchildren in Niger State, 38 worshippers in Kwara State, and 25 students in Kebbi State, among numerous others.
Invoking Paragraph 3.10(e) of the Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service (Officers) 2024, the Army has halted retirements for officers who:
– Have reached the age ceiling for their rank
– Have completed 35 years of service
– Failed promotion examinations or conversion boards three times
– Were passed over for promotion three times.
Affected officers may apply to continue serving, but those granted extensions will be ineligible for further promotions, courses, secondments, or extra-regimental postings.
Commanders have been ordered to widely disseminate the policy, manage troop morale, and assure personnel that the suspension will be reviewed once the security situation stabilises.
The retirement freeze is the latest in a series of emergency measures following President Tinubu’s directive for the military, police, and intelligence agencies to significantly boost recruitment and deployment.
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