Yahaya Bello and Associates Charged with N110.4 Billion Fraud

By Luminous Jannamike

ABUJA – The Federal Republic of Nigeria has filed 16-count charges against former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Adoza Bello, Umar Shuaibu Oicha, and Abdulsalam Hudu at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja. The charges, filed on September 24, 2024, under Case No: CR/7781, include conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, and possession of unlawfully obtained property.

Key allegations center around a conspiracy to commit criminal breach of trust involving N110.4 billion misused in 2016. The defendants are accused of misappropriating state funds to acquire several properties, including:

• No. 35 Danube Street, Maitama District, Abuja – N950 million
• No. 1160 Cadastral Zone C03, Gwarimpa II District, Abuja – N100 million
• No. 2 Justice Chukwudifu Oputa Street, Asokoro, Abuja – N920 million
• Block D Manzini Street, Wuse Zone 4, Abuja – N170 million
• Burj Khalifa Hotel Apartment Community, Dubai – Approximately 5.7 million Dirhams
• Block 18, Gwelo Street, Wuse Zone 4, Abuja – N60 million
• No. 9 Benghazi Street, Wuse Zone 4, Abuja – N310.4 million

The defendants also face accusations of transferring $570,330 and $556,265 to TD Bank in the USA, along with possessing unlawfully obtained property, including N677.8 million from BESPOQUE BUSINESS SOLUTION LIMITED.

The prosecution team features prominent lawyers, including Dr. Kemi Pinheiro (SAN) and Rotimi Oyedepo Iseoluwa (SAN). According to the charge sheet, the defendants allegedly misused substantial state funds for various property acquisitions while having dominion over the state’s treasury.