A prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello told a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory that a judgment exists faulting the refund of school fees paid for the defendant’s children to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. During cross-examination by defense counsel Joseph Daudu SAN, the witness, Nicholas Ojehomon, an internal auditor with the American International School of Abuja, read from a certified true copy of a judgment in a suit marked FCT/HC/CV/2574/2023. The witness quoted the judgment stating, “It is hereby declared that the defendant cannot lawfully and unilaterally grant the ‘request for refund’ and pay over to a third party, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, or anyone howsoever described, the sum of $760,910.84 or any other sum paid pursuant to the ‘Agreement for Prepaid School Fees except in accordance with the said agreement or upon an order of court.”
The court document further emphasized that the school’s actions constituted a breach of contract by bypassing due process. Ojehomon read another portion of the ruling which stated, “It is hereby declared that any refund/payment of the sum of $760,910.84 or any other sum made to a third party, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission or any other person, however described, pursuant to any request for refund, or howsoever described, without regards to due process or agreement of the Claimant is in breach of the Agreement for Prepaid School Fees.” The judgment also included an order of perpetual injunction restraining the school from giving effect to any such refund requests to the commission unless ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction or through recourse to the due process of law.
Following the reading of these judicial declarations, Ojehomon agreed that the judgment implied the school erred by returning the funds without a specific court order. The witness was also presented with the formal agreement for the prepaid school fees, marked as Exhibit AX4, and confirmed that Yahaya Bello was not a signatory to the document. Having served as an internal auditor at the institution for nearly a decade, Ojehomon further testified that no payment for the fees in question originated directly from the former governor. Justice Maryanne Anenih, after admitting the judgment as Exhibit AO, stepped down an application challenging the jurisdiction of the court and adjourned the matter to May 8 for further proceedings.
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