Yahaya Bello: Come to court, stop hiding behind governor- EFCC

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has asked the Kogi State former governor, Yahaya Bello, to comply with the court orders that mandated that he appear before the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja for arraignment and stop playing a hide-and-seek game to gain public sympathy.

EFCC said that the trial court and Court of Appeal had clearly ordered that the former governor present himself for arraignment on the allegations of N80.2 billion money laundering charges preferred against him after investigations.

The anti-graft agency’s claim at the court on Wednesday came after the EFCC filed 18-count charges bordering on money laundering against the former governor while serving in Kogi state.

Speaking at the court, the EFCC counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, noted that Bello’s appearance at the agency’s parking lots was out of place after both courts had mandated that he presents himself for arraignment at the trial court.

“There is nowhere my Lordship or the Court of Appeal ordered that Yahaya Bello present himself at the EFCC car park, but rather to appear before my Lordship for arraignment. What is even more worrisome and disconcerting is that the defendant went to the EFCC car park holding the hands of a person with immunity who came with all the full security of his office.

“The implication, my Lord, is if there was an attempt to get him from the person of immunity, there would be an invitation to anarchy. The invitation by the EFCC later in the day for Yahaya Bello to come alone, not with a person with immunity, security persons, and other people was resisted again on their own admission”, he said.

Addressing the court presided over by Justice Emeka Nwite, the EFCC counsel pointed out, “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, meanwhile, urged the judge to demonstrate his might and exercise his power to show Bello’s counsel A.M Agboyi that the court is not a vaudeville for entertainment but for serious business.

“This court is not a vaudeville, a vaudeville is a place of diverse entertainment. I want to borrow the words of Justice Uwaifo that no party should make a court a place of entertainment. The court must resist it. It is a place of serious and solemn business”, he said. He specifically sought the order of the court for Agboyi to be sanctioned and referred to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee, LPDC, for turning the court into a vaudeville.

“My Lord, it is against this backdrop that I will make this assertion that my learned friend wants to turn this place to an entertainment place or a casino. I want the court to use its power against him because his senior advocates have left and they pushed him so that it will serve as a lesson to others,” he said.

The EFCC lawyer, meanwhile, urged the court to proceed to the trial of Bello in absentia.

After listening to the counsels, Justice Nwite stressed that “the matter is slated for arraignment, and it seems it has gone back to square one. It’s been over five months now and I don’t know how the case is going. With the submission made by counsels this morning, it’s quite unfortunate, but I have to reserve my comments, I have to reserve judgement on the submission of these counsels”.

He thereafter adjourned the matter till October 30, 2024, for arraignment and ruling.