Yahaya Bello snubs court again, cites Supreme Court appeals as reason

Mr Bello’s latest absence from court on Wednesday comes about a week after his controversial surrender at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja on 18 September.

Yahaya Bello, a former governor of Kogi State, again, on Wednesday, shunned the proceedings of the Federal High Court in Abuja scheduled for his arraignment on N80.2 billion money laundering charges on Wednesday.

The arraignment has been severally re-scheduled due to Mr Bello’s repeated absence from court.

It made the seventh court session on Wednesday that Mr Bello has snubbed since the first attempt by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to arraign him in April.

The lead defence lawyer, Abdulwahab Muhammed, a SAN, was also absent from court on Wednesday but was represented by his junior, A.M. Adoyi.

Mr Adoyi told the trial judge, Emeka Nwite, that his client filed appeals at the Supreme Court against the order of the Court of Appeal directing him to appear for arraignment and against the warrant of arrest issued against him.

According to Mr Adoyi, the appeals were filed at the Supreme Court on 23 September, which was five days after his dramatic visit to EFCC headquarters on 18 September.

“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 from under the feet of the Supreme Court,” the lawyer said.

The defence lawyer’s argument contradicts Mr Bello’s earlier claim that he decided to submit himself to EFCC on 18 September because he had exhausted all legal mechanisms challenging his trial.

EFCC’s prosecuting counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), dismissed Mr Adoyi’s comment.

“Adoyi’s statement seeks to turn the court into an entertainment venue,” Mr Pinheiro said, urging the court to “use its coercive power to punish him as a lesson to juniors.”

He recalled that the court had adjourned several times for the defendant to present himself for arraignment. “Even sanctions have been imposed on his lawyers,” he said, in reference to a 17 July order of the court referring Mr Bello’s two most senior defence lawyers to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) for probe over alleged professional misconduct.

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

Mr Pinheiro said he was in court with two prosecution witnesses in hopes that Mr Bello would appear for his arraignment and trial would begin thereafter.

But Mr Adoyi insisted that the court should await the decision of the Supreme Court before going into the arraignment of the defendant.

After a back-and-forth the judge adjourned the case until 30 October for ruling and possible arraignment.

Unending drama

Mr Bello’s latest absence from court on Wednesday comes about a week after his controversial surrender at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja on 18 September.

Curiously, EFCC declined to arrest Mr Bello who, in company with Governor Ododo, strutted the premises of the EFCC headquarters in Abuja for hours before he was asked to leave.

Later that day EFCC operatives stormed the Kogi State Government Lodge in Asokoro, Abuja, where Mr Bello was being sheltered by Governor Ododo, in a futile attempt to arrest him. The move sparked a confrontation between EFCC operatives and Governor Ododo’s security details, leading to a shootout in the area. The arrest bid was unsuccessful as Mr Bello again escaped from the chaotic scene in Governor Ododo’s convoy.

EFCC’s prosecutor, Kemi Pinheiro, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), wrote Mr Bello’s lead defence lawyer, Abdulwahab Muhammed, also a SAN, on Tuesday, to remind the defence team about the need to produce the defendant for Wednesday’s proceedings.

The letter was copied to the registrar of the trial judge Emeka Nwite’s court.

It reminded the defence of the two judgements of the Court of Appeal in Abuja delivered on 17 August and 20 August 2024 ordering the former governor to make himself available for arraignment before taking any further steps regarding the matter.

“We trust you would ensure compliance with the order of their Law Lords of the Court of Appeal,” Mr Pinheiro wrote, while reminding the defence of their series of undertakings to produce Mr Bello in court for arraignment.

Mr Pinheiro feigned ignorance of Mr Bello’s visit to EFCC’s headquarters on 18 September and the subsequent shootout incident snowballed into later that day. He stated that he only read in the media that Mr Bello was at EFCC’s car park but that the information could not be verified.

EFCC too has only made a scanty comment regarding the matter, only denying Mr Bello was in custody. The agency has yet to speak about the shootout incident.

‘Court didn’t order Bello to surrender at EFCC car park’

At Wednesday’s court proceedings, Mr Pinheiro said Mr Bello was expected to appear in court and not EFCC’s car park.

“The court never directed the defendant to present himself at the EFCC car park; charges are not read at the car park,” he said.

He also subtly expressed how Governor Ododo, using his constitutional immunity, to shield Mr Bello from arrest.

“The lawyers are holding the hands of a person with immunity. An attempt to extricate him from that immunity would lead to anarchy. The defendant resisted being invited at night to be taken alone.

“We wrote a letter to his lawyers requesting the defendant to appear in Court, but he failed to come,” he said.

Responding, Mr Adoyi urged the court to expunge Mr Pinheiro’s claims.

“The new applications present entirely new facts, and by virtue of the rules of professional conduct 20 and 24, I have a duty under the law to represent and defend my client. I have a duty to accept because I have not undermined the court.”

“In the interest of justice, the court should await the ruling of the Supreme Court,” he said.

However, announcing Mr Bello’s surrender to the EFCC on 18 September, the former governor’s media aide said in a statement: “It is important for the former Governor to now honour the invitation of the EFCC to clear his name as he has nothing to hide and nothing to fear.”

Stalled trial

The EFCC charged Mr Bello with 19 counts of money laundering before the Federal High Court in Abuja after he completed his second and final term as governor in January.

The commission alleged in the charges that the former governor diverted more than N80 billion from the Kogi State Government’s treasury as governor of Kogi State.

A nephew of the former governor, Ali Bello, is standing trial along with others in a related case also at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

However, since filing the charges against Mr Bello, the commission has not been able to bring him to court for arraignment.

He has snubbed six court sessions scheduled for his arraignment, as he intensified legal efforts, including filing legal actions before the trial judge, Kogi State High Court and the Court of Appeal, to stop the trial.

At a point, he wrote the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, John Tsoho, to transfer the case to the Lokoja Division of the court. But the Chief Judge rejected the request and asked him to present the request before the trial judge. The trial judg, Mr Nwite, similarly refused the application.

In April, EFCC declared him wanted after a failed attempt to arrest him at his residence in Abuja.

Later in August, the Court of Appeal in Abuja reaffirmed the power of the EFCC to prosecute the former governor.

A three-member bench of the appeal court which sat on the case unanimously dismissed Mr Bello’s appeal against certain decisions of the trial judge. The appeal court threw out the former governor’s preliminary objection to the trial.

Mr Bello challenged the Federal High Court’s decision ordering the service of the charges and proof of evidence on his lead counsel.

However, the Court of Appeal validated the service as ordered by the trial court and ordered the former governor to surrender for trial.