Nigerian courts are currently embroiled in a series of high-profile corruption trials involving former government officials, shedding light on alleged financial misconduct during their tenures. These cases involve a former state governor and two former ministers, with court proceedings detailing suspicious transactions, contract fraud, and disputes over evidence.

In the ongoing money laundering trial of former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, a Zenith Bank official, Mshelia Arhyel (also identified as Mashelia Bata), testified before the Federal High Court in Abuja, detailing a pattern of massive suspicious cash withdrawals and transfers from the Kogi State Government's account. Mr. Arhyel, a compliance officer, stated that over N1 billion was allegedly taken from the government's account within a few days during Mr. Bello’s time in office. The court admitted bank documents, including the Kogi State Government's statement of account (Exhibits 22 and 22A), which covered financial transactions from 2016 to 2023. Specific entries highlighted included a N4.55 million transfer to Danihopewell Services Limited on April 16, 2016. Furthermore, multiple cheque transactions, predominantly by Abdulsalami Hudu (a co-defendant in a separate N110 billion corruption trial), showed consistent N10 million cash withdrawals. Between January 30 and February 2, 2018, a staggering N1,096,830,000 was withdrawn from the Kogi State Government House Administration account, with Mr. Hudu alone withdrawing N697,267,000 over two days (January 30-31, 2018). Other transactions included a N3 million transfer to Ali Bello, the former governor's nephew, who also faces corruption charges. The witness also noted patterns of identical inflows and outflows, with Mr. Hudu and Mr. Koji as cash beneficiaries, and the application of a 5% CBN surcharge for excess cash withdrawals. Separately, Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court rejected the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission's (EFCC) request to re-examine its third witness, Nicholas Ojehomon, an internal auditor at the American International School, Abuja (AISA). Mr. Ojehomon had previously testified that the school did not receive wire transfers from the Kogi State Government for Mr. Bello's children's school fees, and the court ruled that re-examination was restricted to specific pages of Exhibit 19, unless the witness was declared hostile.

Meanwhile, the trial of former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, on 12 counts of conspiracy and money laundering involving N33.8 billion, saw a prosecution witness affirm that the former Minister voluntarily provided multiple confessional statements to the EFCC. Abubakar Kwaido, an EFCC investigator, testified before Justice James Omotosho that Mr. Mamman wrote or dictated his statements between May and August 2023, and on February 20, 2024, always in the presence of his legal representatives or associates. Mr. Kwaido dismissed claims of coercion, citing video evidence where Mr. Mamman and his lawyer appeared amicable. The witness detailed the presence of various lawyers and associates during statement recording sessions and confirmed that Mr. Mamman had authorized his lawyer to write a statement on his behalf due to ill health. The court ordered a trial-within-trial to determine the admissibility of the disputed statements, eventually ruling in favor of their admission after viewing video footage of the process, which occurred in an open EFCC office with audiovisual recording. The charges against Mr. Mamman relate to alleged diversions of funds meant for the Mambilla Power Project, with over N26 billion allegedly diverted through Bureau de Change operators.

In another corruption case, the FCT High Court in Abuja heard testimonies concerning the employments of Fatima Sirika and Jalal Hamma, daughter and son-in-law of former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika. The couple are facing six counts of contract fraud totaling N2.8 billion alongside Mr. Sirika and their firm, Al Buraq Global Investment. The EFCC alleges that Mr. Sirika abused his office by awarding aviation ministry contracts to a company in which his daughter and her husband had interests, including a N1.5 billion contract for the Katsina Airport Apron Extension. The anti-graft agency also traced N1.3 billion to Mr. Sirika as proceeds of criminal conduct linked to these contracts. Prosecution witnesses Gabriel Adagba, a former HR head at NUPRC, and Abidoye Babatunde, Deputy Manager at NNPC Limited, confirmed the couple's employment at their respective organizations but stated they were not privy to details of their recruitment procedures or any contracts awarded to Al Buraq Global Investment. Mr. Babatunde confirmed Fatima Sirika’s employment in 2020 and confirmation in May 2021, after NNPC transitioned to a private limited company in January 2021. The testimonies highlight the potential conflict of interest as public officers are generally not permitted to bid for or be awarded contracts, a crucial aspect for the judge’s eventual decision.