Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has withdrawn from the ₦10 billion money laundering trial of Ali Bello, Chief of Staff to Kogi State Governor Usman Ododo, citing the need to protect public confidence in the judiciary.
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Delivering a ruling on Thursday, the judge said recusing himself was reasonable, fair and in the interest of the parties, the administration of justice and society at large. He directed that the case file be returned to the Chief Judge for reassignment to another judge.
The decision followed the admission by his registrar, Nasir Zubairu Onimisi, that he tampered with an exhibit tendered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The EFCC filed the 10-count charge, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/550/2022, in 2022. It accuses Bello, a nephew of former Kogi Governor Yahaya Bello, and Dauda Sulaiman of fraud involving the alleged diversion of funds from the Kogi State Government. Bello is the first defendant and Sulaiman the second.
After calling 17 witnesses, the EFCC closed its case. The defendants filed a no-case submission, arguing that the prosecution had not offered enough evidence to require them to open a defence.
Justice Omotosho said Onimisi came to his house at about 6.30 a.m. on 5 February 2026 and confessed to tampering with Exhibit N, a phone containing WhatsApp messages on transactions linked to the case. According to the judge, the registrar said the defendants had promised him a house in Abuja.
“He appealed to me to assist him, but I bluntly refused,” the judge said.
The matter was listed for hearing that morning. At about 10.00 a.m., the judge said he played a recording of the conversation in open court, in the presence of all parties and their lawyers. Onimisi confirmed the contents and repeated them in open court. The phone was then powered on, and an examination in open court showed that the contents had indeed been tampered with.
This happened while EFCC investigating officer Muhammed Abubakar was testifying as the 17th prosecution witness. The judge ordered the arrest of Onimisi and the defendants and directed the police and the Department of State Services (DSS) to investigate, including conducting a forensic analysis of their calls and phones.
When the case came up on Thursday for the defence lawyers, E. A. Oshayomi and Olusegun Jolaawo, SAN, to adopt their written addresses on the no-case submission, the judge asked EFCC counsel, Abbas Muhammed, about the outcome of the investigation seven months on.
Muhammed said he had learnt that the DSS had concluded its investigation and submitted the report to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation at the Federal Ministry of Justice. He said he did not know the outcome and promised to update the court. The judge said the prosecution had not informed him that the investigation was concluded.
Justice Omotosho said that, in preparing for the ruling on the no-case submission, he realised the exhibit was “one of the backbones of the prosecution’s case”. Although some of its contents had been downloaded onto a flash drive tendered in court, he said he might have to decide what probative value to give it.
He said either outcome could be misread. Giving the exhibit little or no weight, he said, might lead an ordinary person to conclude that he was trying to play down the tampering. Giving it substantial weight might suggest that he was reacting in annoyance to the incident.
The judge also disclosed that, during the pendency of the case and after the incident, he ordered the forfeiture to the Federal Government of a property at No. 12, 5th Avenue, 59 Crescent, Gwarinpa, Abuja. It was allegedly acquired for an Islamic cleric who prayed for Senator Oseni Yakubu. He said the forfeiture was closely related to this case and the defendants and could affect how his continued role would be perceived.
“The overriding consideration, in my view, is that justice must not only be done but must also be seen to be done,” he said, adding that a preventive approach was prudent because any further incident involving the file or exhibits could damage public confidence in the judiciary.
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