Alhaji Yahaya Bello, the immediate past governor of Kogi State, was supposed to be arraigned on Thursday, but the Federal High Court in Abuja postponed it until June 27.
Mr. Kemi Pinhero, SAN, the lead counsel for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), was not present in court, which led to the adjournment.
It was alleged that Pinhero, SAN, had previously informed the defense lawyers that he would be unable to appear in court and, as a result, had asked for a new date to be scheduled for the defendant to enter a plea to the 19-count charge that the anti-graft agency had brought against him.
In view of the situation, the parties agreed to send junior lawyers to the court to set a new date for the proposed arraignment.
However, when the matter was called up before trial Justice Emeka Nwite, another senior prosecutor, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, announced his appearance for the EFCC and expressed the readiness of his team to proceed with the case.
Miffed by the development, Mr. Adeola Adedipe, SAN, informed the court of the agreement that was earlier reached by the parties, which he said explained the absence of the former governor at the proceeding.
Adedipe, SAN, emphasized that the prosecution was the one who requested the postponement of the case.
He argued that under Section 266 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, 2015, it was not a requirement for the defendant to be present in court when the essence of the proceeding was for parties to take a fresh date.
Judge Nwite then agreed to reschedule the arraignment for a later time after hearing the arguments from each side.
Bello, who oversaw Kogi State’s operations for eight years, is accused of participating in money laundering, breaching trust, and embezzling N80.2 billion in public funds.
Despite his prior inability to show up for his arraignment, he hired lawyers to prepare a motion to quash the arrest warrant that was issued for him on April 17 and to contest the court’s jurisdiction to try him.
The former governor maintained that the EFCC acted in breach of a subsisting judgement of a High Court in Kogi State when it entered the charge against him and also applied for a bench warrant to be issued for his arrest.
He told the trial court that he had already initiated a contempt action against the Chairman of the EFCC.
The defendant was given the chance to voluntarily appear for arraignment even though the court, in a ruling on May 10, declined to revoke the arrest warrant.
Published by Ejoh Caleb
