The Federal High Court in Abuja has postponed the arraignment of Yahaya Bello, the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, to July 17, 2024.
Bello is facing a 19-count charge, including money laundering, breach of trust, and misappropriation of public funds amounting to approximately N80.2 billion.
These charges have been brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
During Thursday’s proceedings, Bello’s legal representative, Adeola Adedipe (SAN), requested to withdraw from representing Bello. Adedipe highlighted that an application had been submitted to the Chief Judge to transfer the case (charge no: FHC/ABJ/CR/98/2024) to the Federal High Court in Lokoja, in accordance with Section 45 of the Federal High Court Establishment Act. The prosecution was notified of this application through a letter dated June 14, 2024, from the Chief Judge’s office, signed by Joshua Aji, Special Assistant to the Chief Judge.
Bello was initially scheduled to appear in court on June 13, but the hearing was adjourned to June 27 following the EFCC lead counsel’s indication that the previous date was inconvenient. Adedipe reminded the court that his appearance at the last hearing was incidental, as reflected in the court’s records.
Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), representing the prosecution, called for sanctions against Bello’s counsel for failing to present their client for the scheduled arraignment. Pinheiro argued that the lawyers had breached professional conduct rules, specifically pointing to Order 31(3) of the Rules of Professional Conduct for legal practitioners. This rule states that any lawyer who fails to comply with a court undertaking is not only in contempt but also guilty of misconduct.
Pinheiro emphasised that the matter was scheduled for arraignment and that Bello’s counsel had previously committed to presenting the defendant in court on June 13.
After considering arguments from both sides, Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned the case to July 17 for further ruling and arraignment.
