Evidence tampering: Judge orders probe of court registrar, defendant

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

ABUJA—The trial of Ali Bello, nephew of former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, took a dramatic turn yesterday as the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the DSS and Nigeria Police Force to investigate a court registrar for allegedly tampering with evidence.

Bello faces a 10-count charge over alleged complicity in a N10.27 billion fraud, alongside co-defendant Dauda Sulaiman. The EFCC said other suspects, including Abdulsalami Hudu, are still at large.

At the proceedings, Justice James Omotosho disclosed that the court registrar, Nasiru Onimisi Zubairu, had confessed that Sulaiman approached him to delete incriminating WhatsApp messages from his mobile phone, previously marked as Exhibits N and O. The judge played the registrar’s recorded confession in court and summoned him to testify.

Zubairu told the court that Sulaiman offered him a house to delete certain messages, admitting he opened only two chats and could not recall the specifics. EFCC investigative officer Muhammed Audu Abubakar confirmed that multiple messages dating from 2020 to 2022 had indeed been deleted.

, including texts referring to the transfer of millions of naira.

The prosecution, led by Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, urged the court to revoke Sulaiman’s bail and order a forensic investigation of the tampered exhibits. The defence, however, requested the court await the outcome of such an investigation.

Justice Omotosho subsequently adjourned the trial till Monday and referred the matter to the DSS and police for further probe.

The EFCC charge alleges that Bello and Sulaiman misappropriated funds from the Kogi State treasury, delivering them to a Bureau de Change operator, Rabiu Tafada, in Abuja for personal gain. The sums involved include N5.86 billion and N2.5 billion, constituting proceeds of criminal misappropriation in violation of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2011.

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