Yahaya Bello drags EFCC to Supreme Court over alleged N80.2bn money laundering

Former Kogi State governor Yahaya Bello and EFCC chairman Ola Olukoyede

Yahaya Bello drags EFCC to Supreme Court over N80.2bn money laundering

Former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, has dragged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before the Supreme Court for declaring him wanted over alleged N80.2 billion money laundering.

Bello is facing a 19-count charge slammed against him by the anti-graft agency of alleged complicity in money laundering to the tune of N80.2 billion.

He was expected to appear before a Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday for his arraignment but failed to show up.

During the hearing, defence counsel A.M. Adoyi, told the court that the matter of Bello’s arraignment, which is under appeal, had been taken to the Supreme Court.

He said that the Court of Appeal ruling on August 28, which directed Bello to appear before Justice Nwite for arraignment, had been challenged at the apex court.

Adoyi said the appeal is seeking to set-aside the arrest warrant that was issued against his client on April 17.

Consequently, he urged the trial court to suspend the planned arraignment to await the outcome of the appeal before the Supreme Court.

“My lord, the appeal number is SC/CR/847/2024 and SC/CR/848/2024. We believe that the most appropriate thing to do is to await the decision of the Supreme Court in the aforesaid appeals, 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,” the defence lawyer pleaded.

However, counsel for the EFCC, Mr. Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, urged the court to recommend Bello’s lawyer to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee for sanction, accusing him of helping his client to ridicule the integrity of the judiciary.

He noted that the lawyer was part of Bello’s defence team when the court held that it would no longer entertain any application from the defendant until he made himself available for trial.

After he had listened to both sides, Justice Nwite adjourned the matter till October 30 for ruling.