A prosecution witness has said that no Power of Attorney was presented on behalf of the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, or the second defendant, Shuaib Oricha, for a property under investigation.

James Igbakuleh, who is the 11th witness of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, in the ongoing alleged money laundering trial of the former governor and two others, added that he was also seeing the former governor for the fourth time.

“The first time was on Monday at the Federal High Court, then Tuesday, yesterday and today at the FCT High Court,” Igbakuleh, a legal practitioner, said. He said, during cross-examination by the Defendants’ Counsel, Paul Daudu, SAN, that he never met the defendants throughout the transaction.

He told the court that it was one Shehu Bello that contacted him after his client, SFC Foods Limited, approached him to sell the property, located at Adetokunbo Ademola, in Wuse 2, sometime in 2021.

The witness said, during his examination-in-chief, that the payment for the said property was made into three designated accounts as instructed by his client.

He noted that, about 10 months after the conclusion of transactions, he was invited by one Mohammed at the EFCC, who said the agency was investigating a matter and that his name had featured prominently.

The legal practitioner was then shown a counter offer, deed of assignment and sales agreement, which he identified. The counter offer and deed of assignment, addressed to Shehu Bello, were admitted in evidence and marked AV1 and AV2, respectively.