ABUJA, Nigeria — Nicholas Ohehomon, internal auditor at the American International School Abuja (AISA), told a Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday, May 8, 2025, that there is no evidence the Kogi State Government funded the school fees of former Governor Yahaya Bello’s children.
Bello is standing trial on a 19-count charge bordering on alleged money laundering of N80 billion brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
During cross-examination by Joseph Daudu (SAN), Bello’s lead counsel, Ohehomon admitted that:
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No payment was made to the school by the Kogi State Government as reflected in AISA’s bank statement (Exhibit 16).
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No payment was made by any Kogi local government authority.
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No direct payment bearing the name “Yahaya Bello” appeared on the school’s bank statement.
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The names of parents who made payments generally reflected in the account statement, but Yahaya Bello’s was not among them.
Ohehomon had earlier testified in March that the tuition of five of Bello’s children was prepaid in full until graduation, and that the school later refunded the amount to a bank account provided by the EFCC upon instruction from the anti-graft agency.
Meanwhile, Justice Emeka Nwite rejected an EFCC objection seeking to prevent Bello’s legal team from tendering a related FCT High Court judgment involving the American school and Ali Bello, a relative of the former governor.
The EFCC had argued that it had not yet closed its case.
EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede previously alleged that Yahaya Bello diverted $720,000 from the Kogi State treasury to a Bureau de Change to prepay his child’s tuition at AISA as his governorship tenure neared its end.
Bello has denied the allegation.
