EFCC Witness Tells Court N1.1bn KSIRS Commission to Tax Consultant Did Not Breach Any Law in Yahaya Bello Trial
By Fatima Saka
An Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) witness on Friday told the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, that the payment of over N1.1 billion as commission to a tax consultant by the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service (KSIRS) did not violate any law or banking regulation.
Testifying in the ongoing trial of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, and two others over alleged corruption, the witness, Mr. David Ajoda, disclosed that KSIRS paid a total sum of N1,164,929,569 to a tax consultant between January and August 2019.
Ajoda, a Compliance Officer with Sterling Bank, said the payments were made within the eight months the tax consultant was engaged by the Kogi tax authority. He added that during the same period, the consultant withdrew N952.4 million from the account, leaving a balance of N212,525,569.
According to the witness, the multiple withdrawals were carried out by one Phillip Unar. He explained that before the engagement by KSIRS, the consultant had a balance of slightly above N2 million in the account, but credit inflows increased significantly once the tax consultancy arrangement commenced.
Led in evidence by EFCC counsel, Prof. Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, Ajoda tendered the account statements of the tax consultant, which were admitted by the court. He noted that the withdrawals followed a consistent pattern but admitted that he was not aware of the specific details or contractual terms of the tax consultancy business between KSIRS and the consultant.
Under cross-examination by Joseph Daudu, SAN, counsel to Yahaya Bello and Umar Shuaib Oricha, the witness admitted that the name “Kogi State Government” did not appear in any of the bank transactions. He also confirmed that the bank account belonged solely to the tax consultant, who was entitled to make withdrawals as permitted by law.
Ajoda further told the court that Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) regulations allow a maximum cash withdrawal of N5 million for individuals and N10 million for corporate entities per transaction, adding that the withdrawals made by the consultant did not breach these limits.
He said the transactions did not trigger any suspicious transaction report, as there was no violation of CBN regulations. The banker also confirmed that neither Yahaya Bello nor his co-defendants appeared as beneficiaries of any withdrawals from the account.
The witness further clarified that the Kogi State Government and the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service are separate entities.
Meanwhile, Justice Maryann Anenih adjourned further hearing in the matter to February 10.
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