Judge recuses self from N10bn money laundering case against Ali Bello

Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja has recused himself from the ongoing N10 billion money laundering case against Ali Bello, the Chief of Staff (CoS) to Governor Usman Ododo of Kogi State, instituted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Justice Omotosho, in a ruling on Thursday, held that he considered the decision reasonable, fair and in the interest of the parties, the administration of justice and society at large.

The development followed the confession by the court registrar, Mr Nasir Zubairu Onimisi, that he had tampered with one of the exhibits tendered by the EFCC, which was prosecuting the matter.

The anti-graft agency had filed the charges in 2022, accusing Ali Bello, a nephew of former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, and Dauda Sulaiman of fraud involving the alleged diversion of funds from the Kogi State Government’s coffers.

While Bello was listed as the first defendant, Sulaiman was the second defendant in the 10-count charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/550/2022.

Onimisi had, on February 5, admitted in open court that he had confessed to the judge that he tampered with Exhibit “N” after the defendants allegedly promised to give him a house in Abuja.

The development occurred while an EFCC investigation officer, Muhammed Abubakar, was giving evidence in the trial as the 17th prosecution witness.

This prompted Justice Omotosho to order Onimisi’s arrest and direct the police and the Department of State Services (DSS) to investigate the registrar and the defendants and submit their reports to the court.

When the anti-graft agency closed its case after calling 17 witnesses, Bello and Sulaiman opted for a no-case submission on the grounds that the commission had been unable to adduce sufficient evidence in support of the charges to enable them to enter their defence.

However, when the case was called on Thursday for the defence lawyers, E. A. Oshayomi and Olusegun Jolaawo, SAN, to adopt their written addresses on the no-case submission, Justice Omotosho asked Abbas Muhammed, who appeared for the EFCC, about the outcome of the investigation seven months after.

Responding, Muhammed said he had learnt that the DSS had concluded its investigation and that the report had been submitted to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation (DPPF), Federal Ministry of Justice.

The lawyer, who said he was yet to know the outcome of the investigation, promised to get back to the court with details.

In his ruling, Justice Omotosho said he recalled that his registrar had opened up to him about tampering with an exhibit in relation to the case.

“On the 5th of February, 2026, my Registrar, Nasir Onimisi, called and came to my house at about 6:30 a.m., where he confessed to tampering with one of the exhibits, namely, a phone containing WhatsApp messages relating to transactions connected with the case.

“He stated that he had been promised a house in Abuja by the defendants and that this was the reason he tampered with the phone,” the judge said.

According to the judge, “Onimisi appealed to me to assist him, but I bluntly refused, stating that I could not assist him in such circumstances. Fortunately, the matter was coming up for hearing that same morning.

“When the matter was called at about 10:00am, I played in open court the recording of the conversation that had taken place in my sitting room when Nasir came to disclose these facts to me.

“The recording was played in the presence of all the parties and their counsel. I thereafter, gave the microphone to Nasir and asked him to confirm whether the contents of the recording were true.

“He confirmed the contents and repeated the substance of the recording in open court. The phone, being Exhibit ‘N’ was then powered on to enable the court access its contents and the WhatsApp platform, in order to ascertain whether the messages and transactions had indeed been tampered with,” he said.

The judge said that upon examination in open court, and in the presence of all the parties, it was discovered that the contents had indeed been tampered with.

“Consequently, I made an order for the arrest of Nasir and the defendants for investigation, including forensic analysis of their calls and phones, to enable me determine the appropriate way forward and ascertain scientifically whether the exhibit had been tampered with.

“The investigation is still ongoing as of today, and the prosecution has not informed me whether it has been concluded,” Justice Omotosho said.

The judge further said that while going through the case file early in the morning in preparation for the proceedings for the adoption of addresses in respect of the no-case submission, he realised that “the exhibit in question constitutes one of the material pieces of evidence and is, in effect, one of the backbones of the prosecution’s case.

“I must state that some of the contents of the exhibit have been downloaded onto a flash drive, which has been tendered before this court.

“However, I observed that, if I were to continue with the matter to its conclusion, it might become necessary for the court to ascribe probative value to the said exhibit.

“In my ruling in no-case submission to enable the court to determine if a prima facie case has been established or not, I have considered what an average person on the street might reasonably think, in the circumstances of this case, if I were to ascribe no probative value, or only very low probative value, to the exhibit.

“Such a person may conclude that I was attempting to minimise or conceal the significance of the alleged tampering of the exhibit.

“On the other hand, if I were to attach substantial probative value to the exhibit, the same perception of the circumstances may lead a layman to conclude that I was reacting in annoyance to the events surrounding the alleged tampering.

“It is important to state that, during the pendency of this matter and after the incident involving the alleged tampering, I ordered forfeiture of a property known as No. 12, 5th Avenue, 59 Crescent, Gwarimpa, Abuja to the Federal Government of Nigeria, which was allegedly acquired for an Islamic Cleric who prayed for Senator Oseni Yakubu.

“This case of forfeiture is very much related to this instant case and the defendants.

“I therefore consider this circumstance relevant to the question of how my continued participation in the proceedings might reasonably be perceived by the parties and by the public, because this court needs to consider and look at Exhibit ‘N’ jointly with other evidence to determine if prima facie case has been established against the defendants or not.”

According to the judge, the overriding consideration is that justice must not only be done but must also be seen to be done by a reasonable person on the street.

“In the peculiar circumstances of this case, I consider it prudent to take a preventive approach.

“If I were to continue with the proceedings and any further incident were to occur in relation to the case file or the exhibits, it could give rise to various perceptions and conclusions, whether justified or otherwise, which may adversely affect public confidence in the judiciary and the administration of justice.

“I therefore consider it reasonable, fair and in the interest of the parties, the administration of justice and society at large that I recuse myself from further proceedings in this matter.

“Accordingly, and for the reasons stated above, I hereby recuse myself from further proceedings in this suit,” the judge ruled, and subsequently directed that the case file be returned to the Chief Judge for reassignment to another judge.