The Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday ordered the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Services to investigate a court registrar accused of tampering with key exhibits in an ongoing N10bn fraud trial involving Ali Bello, Chief of Staff to the Kogi State Governor.
Justice James Kolawole Omotosho issued the directive after the court registrar, Nasiru Onimisi Zubairu, allegedly confessed to deleting crucial WhatsApp messages from a mobile phone tendered as evidence by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The judge disclosed in open court that Zubairu told him privately that Daudu Sulaiman, the second defendant in the case, approached him and persuaded him to erase some incriminating chats stored on the phone deposited with the court.
“I have to disclose it because that is what the Chief Judge instructed — to ensure early disclosure. We operate a policy of discovery and zero tolerance for this kind of conduct,” Justice Omotosho said before playing the registrar’s confession in open court and directing him to narrate what transpired.
Testifying, Zubairu said Sulaiman offered him a house in exchange for deleting certain WhatsApp messages from the device. “I was asked to delete some information, some chats in the exhibits, on the promise that I would be given accommodation,” he told the court.
Following the revelation, the prosecution counsel and Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), led the EFCC’s investigating officer, Muhammed Audu Abubakar, in evidence to confirm whether the chats had indeed been erased.
Abubakar told the court that substantial data contained in Exhibits N and O — covering conversations between 2020 and 2022 — had been deleted, including messages allegedly referencing large cash movements.
Going through specific pages of the exhibits, the witness detailed several missing chats, including messages allegedly stating: “Hudu is bringing N100 million,” “N60m is on transit,” and “Mr Ododo has collected N50m and will be coming tomorrow to Abuja.”
“There is nothing here anymore. These chats have been deleted,” Abubakar said, adding that several other entries between December 2020 and February 2022 were no longer on the device.
Reacting, Oyedepo urged the court to order an urgent investigation and forensic examination of the phone, describing the development as “an irresistible suspicion that crucial evidence has been tampered with.”
He also applied for the revocation of the defendants’ bail.
Defence counsel, however, expressed shock at the disclosure but asked the court to await the outcome of the forensic investigation before taking further steps.
Ruling, Justice Omotosho ordered the police and the DSS to immediately investigate the alleged tampering and adjourned the matter till February 9, 2026, for continuation of trial.
The EFCC is prosecuting Bello and others over alleged diversion and laundering of N10bn in public funds.
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