BDC operator explains roles in payment of Yahaya Bello’s children’s dollar-priced school fees

Jamilu Abdullahi said Abba Adaudu sent him money to purchase foreign currency. He rejected the idea that the payments were gifts. He described them as business funds for forex transactions. This matters because the prosecution is examining how money allegedly linked to Kogi State reached dollar-denominated school-fee payments.

Abdullahi said he used the dollars bought with Adaudu’s funds to pay the American International School of Abuja. He received names and school-account details, then arranged transfers to AISA. He also identified telexes connected with the payments and said colleagues used companies to pay through him.

The testimony is part of the EFCC’s corruption case against Yahaya Bello and two co-defendants. The defendants deny the allegations. The court must assess the records, witness evidence, and defence challenges before deciding whether the payments were connected to diverted public funds.

A bureau de change, or BDC, is a currency-exchange business. It buys and sells foreign currencies and may help customers obtain dollars or other currencies. People and businesses use BDCs when they need foreign currency for travel, tuition, imports, transfers, or other permitted payments. Licensing and reporting rules vary by country.

For example, a customer can provide naira to a BDC operator and receive US dollars at an agreed exchange rate. The operator may then arrange a transfer or provide the currency through an account. In this case, Jamilu Abdullahi said he received naira from Abba Adaudu, bought dollars, and used the proceeds for payments to AISA.

The article presents this as disputed evidence in a corruption trial, not as a finding that the transactions were unlawful. Prosecutors are using payment records and testimony to examine the money’s source and destination. The defence denies the allegations, and the court will decide their significance.

The witness described a large flow of money over a defined period. Jamilu Abdullahi said he received about N1.4 billion through his accounts from Abba Adaudu between 15 December 2021 and 21 February 2022. He said the purpose was to purchase US dollars. The amount and dates are central to the prosecution’s account.

Abdullahi said the dollars were used to pay school fees for Yahaya Bello’s children at the American International School of Abuja. He said he received the children’s names and AISA’s account details, then arranged successful transfers. Earlier testimony from an AISA auditor concerned prepaid fees until graduation and telexes from TD Bank in the United States.

The EFCC suspects the N1.4 billion was part of N110.4 billion allegedly diverted from Kogi State funds. Bello and his co-defendants deny the allegations. The court must determine whether the financial trail proves the alleged connection or supports another explanation.

Prosecutors may build a money trail by linking several pieces of evidence rather than relying on one payment. They can compare deposits, company accounts, transfers, named beneficiaries, dates, and the final recipient. This matters when money passes through intermediaries, because the route can show relationships between the sender, the exchanger, and the eventual payment.

Here, Abdullahi identified companies including E-traders International Limited, Kun-Faya-Kun, and De-Remita International Limited. He said Adaudu sent money through accounts and that colleagues used Forza Oil and Gas, Whales Oil and Gas, and Aleshua Solutions to pay AISA. He also identified telexes and a transfer from Keyless Limited.

The EFCC argues that these transactions may connect school-fee payments to money allegedly diverted from Kogi State. That is a prosecution theory, not an established fact. Bello and his co-defendants deny the allegations, and the court must test the evidence and competing explanations.

In a criminal trial, a prosecution witness gives evidence to support the state’s case. The witness may answer questions, identify documents, and explain events. The judge considers that evidence alongside other material. Giving testimony does not itself prove the charge. The prosecution must still establish the required elements to the court’s legal standard.

After the prosecution’s questions, the defence is generally allowed to cross-examine the witness. For example, lawyers could question Abdullahi about who controlled the accounts, whether he personally made cash deposits, how he identified the companies, and whether the transfers had another explanation. The article records that he denied making some Lokoja deposits.

Cross-examination protects a fair trial. It gives the defence a chance to expose errors, inconsistencies, bias, or unreliable assumptions. It also helps the judge weigh disputed evidence. The final decision belongs to the court, not to the witness, the EFCC, or public commentary.

An allegation is an accusation made by a party in a case. It describes what prosecutors believe happened, but it is not automatically true. A fact established by a court is a conclusion reached after the judge evaluates admissible evidence and applies the law. This distinction protects the presumption of innocence and prevents charges from being treated as convictions.

The EFCC alleges that Yahaya Bello and his co-defendants diverted N110.4 billion from Kogi State funds. It also suspects that some money financed property purchases and children’s school fees. Those claims are being presented through witnesses, bank records, telexes, and other evidence. They remain claims while the trial continues.

The article also reports that Bello and the other defendants deny the allegations. Their denial does not decide the case either. The court must assess both sides, resolve disputed facts, and issue a ruling. Until then, careful reporting should use terms such as “alleged,” “suspected,” and “prosecutors said.”

Financial records help investigators reconstruct how money moved. Bank transfers show accounts, dates, amounts, and recipients. Cash-lodgment records show when cash entered an account and under whose name. Foreign-exchange records can indicate how local currency was converted into dollars. Together, they provide a structured trail for testing competing accounts.

Telexes are payment instructions or confirmations that can help connect a transfer with a bank and beneficiary, including an international institution. In this case, an AISA auditor identified telex copies of payments from TD Bank in the United States. Abdullahi also identified telexes he said he sent to Adaudu and described transfers to AISA.

Records do not interpret themselves or automatically prove wrongdoing. Investigators and courts must check authenticity, control of accounts, identity, timing, and purpose. The article shows that Abdullahi disputed some cash deposits, saying he had never visited the Lokoja branch. Such disputes make the records and testimony important for the trial.