Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja has withdrawn from the N10 billion money laundering trial of Ali Bello, citing the need to protect public confidence in the judiciary. The judge made the decision after his court registrar admitted to tampering with a key exhibit in the case. Justice Omotosho directed that the case file be returned to the Chief Judge for reassignment to another judge, stating that recusing himself was reasonable, fair, and in the interest of the parties and society at large.
The case, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/550/2022, was filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2022. It accuses Ali Bello, the Chief of Staff to Kogi State Governor Usman Ododo and nephew of former Kogi Governor Yahaya Bello, along with Dauda Sulaiman, of fraud involving the alleged diversion of funds from the Kogi State Government. The EFCC closed its case after calling 17 witnesses, following which the defendants filed a no-case submission arguing that the prosecution had not offered sufficient evidence to require them to open a defence.
The judge’s decision followed an incident on 5 February 2026, when registrar Nasir Zubairu Onimisi allegedly visited Justice Omotosho’s residence at 6:30 am to confess to tampering with Exhibit N, a phone containing WhatsApp messages linked to the transactions in question. According to the judge, Onimisi claimed the defendants had promised him a house in Abuja and appealed for assistance, which the judge bluntly refused. Later that morning, the judge played a recording of the conversation in open court, where Onimisi confirmed the contents. A subsequent examination of the powered-on phone in open court confirmed that the contents had indeed been altered.
“He appealed to me to assist him, but I bluntly refused,” Justice Omotosho said regarding the registrar’s visit.
At the time of the confession, EFCC investigation officer Muhammed Abubakar was testifying as the 17th prosecution witness. The judge ordered the arrest of Onimisi and the defendants, directing the police and the Department of State Services (DSS) to investigate the matter, including conducting forensic analysis of their calls and phones. When the case resumed on Thursday for the defence lawyers to adopt their written addresses, EFCC counsel Abbas Muhammed informed the court that the DSS had concluded its investigation and submitted the report to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions at the Federal Ministry of Justice, though the outcome remained unknown to the prosecution.
Justice Omotosho explained that while preparing his ruling on the no-case submission, he realized Exhibit N was “one of the backbones of the prosecution’s case.” He noted that determining the probative value of the tampered exhibit could lead to misinterpretation; giving it little weight might suggest he was downplaying the incident, while giving it substantial weight might appear as an annoyed reaction. Additionally, the judge disclosed that he had ordered the forfeiture of a property in Gwarinpa, Abuja, allegedly acquired for an Islamic cleric who prayed for Senator Oseni Yakubu, a matter closely related to the defendants that could further affect perceptions of his impartiality.
Concluding his ruling, Justice Omotosho emphasized that “justice must not only be done but must also be seen to be done.” He stated that a preventive approach was prudent to avoid any further incidents involving the file or exhibits that could damage public confidence in the judiciary.
<small>Source: The Sun Nigeria — read the original story there.</small>
