Story by Iyiola Ayomide
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) has called on former Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, to comply with court orders to appear before the Federal High Court in Abuja for arraignment.
The EFCC accused Bello of playing a game of hide-and-seek to gain public sympathy and urged him to stop doing so.
The EFCC stated that both the trial court and the Court of Appeal had ordered Bello to present himself for arraignment on allegations of N80.2 billion money laundering charges.
The anti-graft agency filed 18-count charges against the former governor while he was in office.
During a court session, the EFCC counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, emphasized that Bello’s appearance at the EFCC parking lot was not in line with the court orders.
Pinheiro also expressed concern that Bello had shown up at the EFCC parking lot accompanied by a person with immunity and full security detail, which could lead to an invitation to anarchy if there was an attempt to arrest him.
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Pinheiro further stated, “My Lord, we wrote a letter to the defendant’s lawyers drawing our colleagues’ attention that arraignment is not conducted in EFCC’s car park, but the defendant should be in court today according to the judgment of the Court of Appeal and this honourable court’s ruling”.
Pinheiro urged the judge to demonstrate his authority and show Bello’s counsel that the court is not a place for entertainment but for serious business.
He requested the court to sanction Bello’s counsel and refer him to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee for turning the court into a place of entertainment.
After hearing the arguments, Justice Emeka Nwite remarked that the matter was scheduled for arraignment but it seemed to have gone back to square one.
He expressed disappointment with the delay in the case and reserved his judgment on the submissions of the counsels.
Subsequently, Justice Nwite adjourned the matter until October 30, 2024, for arraignment and ruling.
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