Alleged Money Laundering: Yahaya Bello Heads To Supreme Court

• As lower court adjourns till Oct 30

Former governor of Kogi State, Mr Yahaya Bello, on Wednesday September 25, 2024, told a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja through his legal counsel that the issue of his arraignment over alleged money laundering case instituted against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), is a subject matter of an appeal that has been entered by him at the Supreme Court.

Bello through his Counsel, Mr A. M. Adoyi, told the Court that his appeal before the Supreme Court is seeking to set aside the arrest warrant issued by the trial court on April 17.

Adoyi drew the attention of the Court to the appeal by virtue of the affidavit of record filed on September 23.

According to Adoyi; “The appeal number is SC/CR/847/2024 and SC/CR/848/2024. That means the most appropriate thing to do is to await the decision of the Supreme Court in the aforesaid appeal 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”.

However, Counsel for the EFCC, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, told the court that the defendant’s Counsel was turning the court into a place for entertainment.

Pinheiro said; “Secondly, an appeal the defendant filed at the Court of Appeal disputing the mode of service of the charge and proof of evidence on their counsel was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on the 28th of August this year.

“The Court of Appeal said the mode of service was good and proper service. The appellant shall not take any further step until he submits himself. But they took another step.

Pinheiro further argued against Bello’s application saying; “They have three applications on this – two before your lordship and one before the Supreme Court. I will now urge your lordship to demonstrate audacity of coercive power on him”.

In hi counter argument, Counsel to Yahaya Bello, Mr. Adoyi, said that the life issue of the matter slated for today (Wednesday), which is the arraignment, is subject to an appeal by the defendant at the Supreme Court, saying; “In the interest of justice, we should await the decision of the Supreme Court on the issue”.

In his ruling, Justice Nwite said, with the submission made by the counsel, he would have to decide the issues raised in one way or the other thus, adjourn to rule on the matter and accordingly adjourned the matter to 30th October, 2024 for ruling and arraignment.

The former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, who was accompanied by Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo, submitted himself to the EFCC last week Wednesday, but the anti-graft agency refused to interrogate or detain him, but later laid siege at the Kogi Government Lodge in Abuja in order to arrest him at night.