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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Thursday, failed to arraign the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, before the Federal High Court in Abuja on a 19-count charge that borders on alleged N80.2 billion fraud.
There were speculations that the anti-graft agency would arraign the former governor on Thursday, alongside his nephew, Ali Bello, and two others—Dauda Suleiman and Abdulsalam Hudu—before Justice Emeka Nwite.
On Thursday, judiciary correspondents as well as lawyers involved in the matter were in court, only for the EFCC to fail to bring Yahaya Bello and his co-defendants to take their plea in the N80.2 billion money laundering charge filed against them.
It would be recalled that Justice Nwite had, on April 17, issued a warrant for the arrest of the former governor following his repeated failure to appear before the court for his arraignment.
This followed fruitless efforts by operatives of the EFCC to execute the arrest order at Bello’s residence in Abuja, which was allegedly thwarted by the incumbent governor of Kogi State, Ahmed Ododo, who was said to have whisked him away in his official car.
However, after months of back-and-forth, Bello, last Tuesday, surrendered himself to the anti-graft agency, which docked him before a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory on Wednesday and slated December 10 to decide the application for his bail.
Justice Nwite had, on October 30, adjourned until January 21, 2025, to hear the alleged money laundering case brought against Yahaya Bello by the EFCC.
When the case came for hearing on October 30, EFCC’s Counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, informed the court that the prosecution had two witnesses already in court to give evidence in the case.
He said, “My first application is to formally enter a plea of not guilty to the defendant, even in his absence. The second point is that, notwithstanding his physical absence, it is in full compliance with Section 276 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA).
“Flowing from that entry, my lord, it is a humble request that we call the first witness,” he prayed to the court.
While defending his application to enter a plea of not guilty for the defendant, Pinheiro said, “The right to plead guilty or not guilty is a right that can be waived by the defendant. My Lord should hold that the defendant has waived that right.
“What prejudice will the defendant suffer if my lord enters a plea of guilty or not guilty in his absence? Even if he was in court and pleaded not guilty, the situation will still be the same. The entry of a plea of not guilty by your lordship is an invitation to the prosecution to come and prove the veracity of the allegations,” he added.
Michael Adoyi, who appeared for the defendant, however, objected to the submissions of the prosecution, saying that the prosecution’s application was made contrary to a subsisting order of Justice Emeka Nwite’s court.
“Our first point of response to the application made by the learnt senior counsel to the complainant is that the application is made contrary to the subsisting order of this honourable court, even made this morning—that no application can be entertained by this court in the absence of the arraignment of the defendant.
“The prosecution has stated severally that the court cannot demonstrate helplessness. The court cannot demonstrate any helplessness in any proceeding, and if at all helplessness exists in this proceeding, that helplessness is demonstrated by the prosecution,” he said, arguing that the court, in a criminal trial, is distinct from the prosecution.
Citing Supreme Court verdicts on similar matters, he said, “The application made by learnt senior counsel for the complainant this morning is a dangerous invitation to this honourable court. Civil proceedings are different from criminal proceedings,” he noted, adding that the prosecution’s application could not be anchored on any of the provisions of the ACJA, 2015, that he had cited, as “those provisions do not excuse the need for the physical presence of the defendant.”
“In view of this, we urge my Lord to refuse the application made by the senior counsel to the complainant,” he concluded.
The prosecution counsel, however, urged the court to dismiss Adoyi’s arguments and proceed with his ruling on entering a plea of not guilty for the defendant.
Justice Nwite, however, said it might not be possible to deliver the ruling this year, stating, “It may not be possible to deliver this ruling this year. You know I am just coming as a vacation judge.”
Pinheiro therefore proposed 21st January 2025 for the ruling and/or arraignment, a proposal the court agreed with. The court thereafter adjourned until January 21, 2025, for a ruling on the application by the EFCC and/or arraignment of the former governor.
It would be recalled that, at the last proceedings in the matter, on September 25, the counsel to the defendant, A.M. Adoyi, had told the court that the issue of arraignment of the defendant was the subject matter of an appeal entered by the defendant at the Supreme Court with the Appeal Number: “SC/CR/847/2024 and SC/CR/848/2024.”
He said the most appropriate thing to do was to await the decision of the Supreme Court in the aforesaid appeal before taking any step for arraignment so as not to pull the rug off the feet of the Supreme Court.
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