The Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Emeka Nwite, has criticized the legal representatives of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, for their failure to present him in court in connection with the N80.9 billion fraud case instituted against him by the EFCC.
Justice Nwite referred Bello’s lawyers, Abduwahab Mohammed, SAN, and Adeola Adedipe, SAN, to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) over their alleged professional misconduct after they failed to uphold their commitment to produce their client for arraignment.
“Ordinarily, I would have taken this matter head-on, but I would prefer to refer the matter to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee to propose necessary recommendations and necessary sanctions against the counsels,” a frustrated Justice Nwite lashed out.
The court had previously scheduled a ruling for June 27, 2024, on an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) lead counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, requesting the court to hold Mohammed and Adedipe in contempt for failing to present Bello.
During the court session on the scheduled date, Mohammed had argued for a stay of proceedings, citing pending appeals at the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division.
He assured the court that he would attempt to bring Bello to court on the next adjourned date but refrained from making any formal commitment.
Pinheiro, however, countered, informing the court that the prosecution would take the necessary steps to ensure Bello’s presence in court.
The EFCC senior counsel disclosed that the EFCC was coordinating with other security agencies to “extract the defendant from the Kogi State Government House where he is hibernating.”
Justice Nwite subsequently adjourned the case to September 25, 2024, for arraignment.
Yahaya Bello is facing prosecution alongside his nephew, Ali Bello, Dauda Suleiman, and Abdulsalam Hudu on 19 counts of money laundering, amounting to N80,246,470,089.88 (eighty billion, two hundred and forty-six million, four hundred and seventy thousand, eighty-nine naira and eighty-eight kobo.
