Alleged N110.4bn Kogi Fraud: Witness Tells Court He Paid 50–60 Percent of Tax Consultancy Commission to Kogi Revenue Officials
Oru Leonard
A prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Adoza Bello, on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, told the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court, Maitama, Abuja, that he paid between 50 and 60 percent of the commissions earned by his company from consultancy services rendered to the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service, KSIRS, to some officials of the agency.
The witness, who testified as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC’s, eighteenth prosecution witness, PW18, made the disclosure before Justice Maryanne Anineh while being led in evidence by the Commission’s lead counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN.
The EFCC is prosecuting Bello alongside Umar Shuaibu Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu on a 16-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust and money laundering involving the sum of N110.4 billion.
The witness, who told the court that his companies were involved in information technology, software development, software implementation, marketing and tax automation services, recalled how he came in contact with the EFCC, stating that, “my company had business dealings with the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service. It was in connection with that that my company was invited.”
The witness confirmed making statements to the Commission and explained that his company served as a consultant to the KSIRS, providing tax process automation, tax audits and advisory services on tax policy and strategy.
Asked whether the services rendered were free, he answered in the negative, explaining that his company was initially entitled to 15 per cent commission on tax collections exceeding N350 million.
“The agreement was to receive 15 per cent commission on transactions above N350 million. The agreement was later reviewed downward to five per cent because the Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, had grown significantly and our operating costs became lower due to automation,” he said.
He further identified former KSIRS Chairman, Senator Yakubu Oseni, as one of the officials he dealt with during the consultancy arrangement. Speaking on the disbursement of commissions received by his company, the witness disclosed that between 50 and 60 per cent of the commissions were paid to certain stakeholders.
Asked whether such payments formed part of the consultancy agreement, he replied, “No.”
He added that the payments were made through bank transfers and cash transactions, stating that they were carried out based on directives from Senator Oseni through his Personal Assistant, Yusuf Abdulmumuni.
According to him, cash payments were also subsequently made on the instructions of Oseni’s successor, Aliyu Nda Salami, through Salami’s Personal Assistant, Abdulwahab.
The witness identified Exhibit X1 as the statement of account of Bespoke Business Solution domiciled in Zenith Bank Plc and Exhibit AD1 as the company’s Sterling Bank account statement.
He told the court that although the consultancy engagement commenced around 2016 and ended in 2017, the Sterling Bank account statement covered transactions from 2016 to 2022.
The witness further informed the court that one Jami’u Salihu was nominated by Senator Oseni as a signatory to the Bespoke project account maintained with Zenith Bank.
“Jami’u Salihu signs independently from me,” he said.
While reviewing transactions contained in Exhibit AD1, K.P confirmed several inflows from the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service and corresponding withdrawals by Jami’u Salihu.
He identified an inflow of N92,444,992.60 on August 9, 2017, followed by withdrawals by Salihu. He also confirmed another inflow of N261,836,882.78 on August 14, 2017, with subsequent withdrawals by the same signatory.
Source: EFCC Official X handle
Photo Credit of Yaya Bello: Instagram
