The Federal High Court in Maitama has admitted the extra-judicial statements of Ali Bello and Dauda Sulaiman as evidence in the ongoing trial over an alleged ₦10 billion fraud linked to Kogi State.
In a ruling delivered on Wednesday, Justice James Omotosho held that the statements were made voluntarily and in the presence of legal counsel, thereby meeting the requirements of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.
The court noted that the defendants’ lawyers were present during the recording of the statements by investigators and had, in some instances, endorsed them as confessional and freely given. This, the judge said, weakened the defendants’ claims that the statements were obtained under duress.
Ali Bello, who is a nephew of former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Adoza Bello, and Sulaiman are standing trial on a 16-count amended charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. The charges border on alleged misappropriation and money laundering amounting to ₦10,270,556,800.
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The development followed a trial-within-trial initiated after the defendants challenged the admissibility of eight statements, insisting they were extracted through threats and coercion. Justice Omotosho dismissed the objections, ruling that the evidence before the court established that the statements were voluntarily made.
With the decision, Bello’s statements earlier marked as Exhibits TWA to TWA5 were admitted as Exhibits R2 to R5 in the substantive trial, while Sulaiman’s statements marked TWB and TWB1 were admitted as Exhibits S and SW1.
The case has been adjourned to April 21 and April 24, 2026, for the prosecution to close its case as proceedings continue in what remains one of the high-profile financial crime trials in the country.
