The immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, has dragged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to the Supreme Court for declaring him wanted.
The anti-graft agency filed a 19-count charge against him over his alleged complicity in money laundering, to the tune of N80.2billion while in office. He was billed to appear before the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday for his arraignment.
However, when the matter was called, the team of lawyers representing the former governor, led by A. M. Adoyi, informed the trial judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, that they had a pending appeal before the apex court that was filed on September 23. Adoyi said the appeal is seeking to set aside the arrest warrant that was issued against his client on April 17.
Consequently, he urged the trial court to suspend the planned arraignment to await the outcome of the appeal before the Supreme Court.
“My lord, the appeal number is SC/CR/847/2024 and SC/CR/848/2024. We believe that the most appropriate thing to do is to await the decision of the Supreme Court in the aforesaid appeals, before taking any step for arraignment so as not to render the appellant’s appeal null or to pull the rug out of the feet of the Supreme Court,” the defence lawyer pleaded.
However, counsel for the EFCC, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, urged the court to recommend Bello’s lawyer to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee for sanction, accusing him of helping his client to ridicule the integrity of the judiciary.
He noted that the lawyer was part of Bello’s defence team when the court held that it would no longer entertain any application from the defendant until he made himself available for trial.
“My lord, what counsel to the defendant has demonstrated before this court is nothing but the audacity of irresponsibility. I urge this court to impose its coercive powers to let him know that the court is not a place for entertainment,” he submitted.
More so, the prosecution counsel noted that rather than presenting himself for trial, the erstwhile governor claimed he went to EFCC’s office.
“What is worrisome is that the defendant, by his own admission, went to EFCC’s car park holding the hands of a person with immunity, who came with full compliment of all the paraphernalia and security of his office.
The implication is that if there was an attempt to extricate him from the person with immunity, there would have been an altercation and an invitation to anarchy.
By their own admission too, an invitation that was sent later in the day for him to come alone was resisted,” EFCC’s lawyer added.
After he had listened to both sides, Justice Nwite adjourned the matter till October 30 for the ruling.
