A prosecution witness from the American International School, appeared at the Federal High Court, Abuja, confirming that Yahaya Bello, the former governor of Kogi State, paid a total of $1,606,763.68 for his children’s tuition at the school.
Nicholas Ojehomon, an auditor at the institution, stated that this amount covered school fees for Bello’s children from their current classes until graduation.
The payment was made in two parts, with the second portion serving as an advance for future tuition.
Bello is facing a significant fraud charge amounting to N80.2 billion by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
During a previous court session, another witness revealed that the EFCC had discovered a $760,000 payment made shortly, before Bello’s tenure ended. This amount was later refunded to the EFCC by the school during their investigation.
Ojehomon further detailed how Bello’s brother, Ali Bello, initiated the payment request for Bello’s four children, who are in grades 2, 4, 6, and 8.
The school management agreed to the terms, proposed by Ali Bello, for an extended payment plan. He noted that the payment structure also included, future students, indicating an expectation of additional enrollments in August 2022.
The witness provided a breakdown of the payments for each child, with specific amounts for each grade.
He confirmed a refund amount of $760,910.84 made to the EFCC, which was documented in a contractual agreement signed by the school representatives, and Ali Bello.
The testimony further included details about the bank accounts used for these transactions, highlighting that some refunds were processed through an account at the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The continuation of the hearing involved another witness from the United Bank for Africa, who discussed transactions made during Bello’s administration, noting withdrawals that primarily benefited two individuals, Abdulsalam Hudu and Aminu J.O., with significant amounts drawn in N10 million increments.
