Court Fixes April 23 For Ruling On Service In Ex-Gov Kogi, Yahaya Bello’s Alleged Money Laundering Case

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, presided by Justice Emeka Nwite, has fixed 23rd April 2024 for ruling on the application by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), seeking for a substituted service of the charge on Yahaya Bello, the immediate-past Governor of Kogi State.

The date was fixed after the counsel to the EFCC, Kemi Pinheiro, (SAN), and Abdulwahab Mohammed (SAN) counsel to Bello presented their arguments for and against the oral application.

Recall THE WHISTLER reported earlier on that EFCC arraigned Bello on a 19-count money laundering charge, but when the matter was brought up today Bello was absent in court.

However, his team of lawyers, including Adeola Adedipe (SAN), were in court, and Mohammed, who announced appearance for Bello, challenged the validity of the charge brought against their client on the ground that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter.

He also challenged the order of arrest issued by the court noting that a preliminary objection had already been filed before the court to the effect.

The lawyer, who urged the court to vacate the arrest warrant order, said a High Court of Kogi had on 9th February 2024 restrained EFCC from arresting, detaining or prosecuting Bello, saying the ruling was on a fundamental rights suit filed by Bello and that the EFCC was a party in the matter.

He added that two of the senior advocates representing the EFCC in the instant charge were also in the matter. He explained that the order was challenged by the EFCC at the Court of Appeal and the matter was already fixed for hearing.

Mohammed stressed that the arrest warrant the commission got from the court was an attempt to bring the court “on collision course with the Appeal Court” while insisting that the issue of jurisdiction was a threshold which the court must address first.

He therefore faulted that the charge ought not to have been filed in view of the appeal.

However, Pinheiro’s submission was that the court should direct that Bello’s lawyer should be served with the charge in the open court since he represented Bello, but the senior lawyer said he was not authorised to receive the charge on his client’s behalf.

He argued that if the commission could not serve Bello personally with the charge, they should formally apply so that the defendant could respond accordingly insisting that their objection to the whole charge and the arrest warrant on the ground of lack of jurisdiction had not been dealt with.

However, EFCC’s lawyer disagreed with Mohammed’s submission stating that the matter was fixed for Bello’s arraignment and Mohammed, having announced appearance for the ex-governor, could be served in the open court for the matter to proceed. The court adjourned the sitting to 23rd April 2024 for ruling on substituted service.