By Uche Amunike
The Court of Appeal in Abuja, Tuesday, has ordered former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello to surrender himself for trial in the N80 billion money laundering case pending against him at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The order was given by a 3-member panel, headed by Hamma Barka after they dismissed appeals filed by Mr. Bello, seeking to stop his arraignment by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In the lead decision read by Kenneth Amadi on Tuesday, the court ordered: ‘The appellant (Mr Bello) shall obey the provision of section 396(2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) by presenting himself for arraignment in the charge before taking any other step in this matter.’
The EFCC charged Mr. Bello with 19 counts for money laundering that involved over N80 billion which he allegedly diverted from the treasury of the Kogi State government. Since the charges were filed, however, the EFCC has not been able to take him to court, as he has snubbed six court sessions scheduled for his arraignment.
He was scheduled to appear in court on April 18, a day after the trial court ordered his arrest. He skipped all the court sessions scheduled for his arraignment on April 23, May 10, June 13, June 27, and July 17. The court decision on Tuesday is the latest in the series of judicial responses to Yahaya Bello’s legal efforts to stop his trial.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja ruled against him in a fundamental rights case in June and he has held onto it as an excuse for staying away from court.
He has also tried to transfer his trial from the Abuja division of the Federal High Court to the Lokoja division without any success.
On July 17, the trial judge, Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja also rejected an application of Yahaya Bello’s legal team to stop his trial. On Tuesday, the court of appeal unanimously reaffirmed the power of the EFCC to prosecute the former governor and dismissed his appeal against the trial judge’s decision, while also, throwing out his preliminary objection to the trial.
The former governor challenged the decision of the Federal High Court that ordered 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.
Speaking on the lead court’s decision, Amadi maintained: ‘What is more? Section 379 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) allows service on the Defendant or his legal practitioner.’
He further held that it was enough that the former governor has become aware of the pending charges, especially as he had engaged lawyers to represent him in the case, adding that it was a confirmation that he knew about the pending charges.
The court stated: ‘In view of this, the appeal lacks merit and is accordingly dismissed. The decision of the lower court directing service on the Appellant’s lead counsel is thus affirmed.’
While delivering judgment on the second case, the Court of Appeal validated the trial court‘s decision to dismiss Mr. Bello’s applications until he presented himself for trial. The judgment touched on the decision of a Kogi High Court in Lokoja on the fundamental rights case filed by the former governor in February 2024. The judge ruled in favor of Mr. Bello, shielding him from arrest and prosecution by the EFCC.
Mr. Bello has held on to the High Court’s judgment as an excuse for being absent from court for his trial. The Appellate Court has however, described the decision of the High Court to shield Mr. Bello from prosecution as scandalous, stating that no court has the power to preclude a law-enforcement agent from performing its statutory functions.
As a result of this pronouncement, an earlier decision of another Court of Appeal judge, Olubunmi Oyewole, which ruled against Mr. Bello, in one of the appeals (CA/ABJ/CV/413/2024) that stemmed from the fundamental right suit, Mr. Amadi ruled that the EFCC’s appeal, prosecuted by an external lawyer of the commission, Jibrin Okutepa (Senior Advocate of Nigeria), is meritorious and therefore allowed.
The EFCC has tried to bring Mr. Bello to court to no avail. On April 17, it made attempts to arrest him at his residence in Abuja after an arrest warrant was issued by the trial court, earlier that day. However, the policemen attached to his house at Wuse Zone 4, Abuja, obstructed the operatives.
It is believed that Yahaya Bello sneaked away from the house in the convoy of his successor, Governor Usman Ododo, whose convoy suddenly appeared on the scene in the middle of the standoff between the EFCC and police operators. Ever since, they have declared Mr. Yahaya Bello wanted.
