The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Tuesday, ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to serve former Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State with the money laundering charges against him through his lawyer.
The trial judge, Emeka Nwite, issued the order following Mr Bello’s absence from court on Tuesday.
It made it the second consecutive time the defendant would fail to attend court for his scheduled arraignment.
His absence earlier stalled the arraignment on 18 April.
Earlier on 17 April, the judge issued a warrant of arrest against the former governor. But an attempt by EFCC operatives to arrest Mr Bello based on the arrest warrant that day was obstructed by the police officers attached to his house at Wuse Zone 4, Abuja.
With the proceedings further stalled on Tuesday, the judge granted EFCC’s permission to serve Mr Bello through substituted means.
He directed the agency’s prosecutor, Kemi Pinheiro, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), to serve Mr Bello’s lawyer, Abdulwahab Mohammed, dispensing with the broad general legal requirement for personal service in criminal cases.
The judge ordered the EFCC to serve the charges with the accompanying proof of evidence and other documents on the defence lawyer.
Mr Nwite, relying on section 382(4) and (5) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), also ordered Mr Mohammed, having announced an unconditional appearance for Mr Bello, to accept service on behalf of the defendant.
Bello wants arrest warrant withdrawn
Shortly after the court ordered the substituted service, Mr Bello, through another lawyer in the defence team, urged the court to vacate the arrest warrant issued against him.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the defence lawyer, Adeola Adedipe, also a SAN, argued that the arrest warrant should be set aside because it was made suo motu, that is, the judge issued the order on his own accord, without any request by any of the parties involved.
The senior lawyer argued that Mr Pinheiro’s submission that the ex-governor must be in court first for any of his applications to be entertained did not hold water.
Mr Adedipe said contrary to Mr Pineheiro’s submission, the anti-graft agency made an application on 18 April, the day after the warrant of arrest was given, and that the court granted it.
According to him, the prosecution made the application for substituted service at the previous proceedings in the absence of the defendant. Mr Adedipe noted that that same application was granted by the judge earlier in Tuesday’s proceedings.
“The court must satisfy itself that the defendant will not be prejudiced in fairness if the warrant of arrest continues to hang on his neck, having been made before service of the charge contrary to Section 394 of ACJA,” Mr Adeola argued.
Mr Bello, 48, who left office as governor on 27 January, faces 19 counts of money laundering at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The proceedings were still ongoing as of the time of filing the report.
Counter-orders
The defence team had justified Mr Bello’s absence from his scheduled arraignment, citing a court order that barred EFCC from arresting and detaining him. The team of lawyers accused EFCC of violating a court order by seeking to arrest and prosecute the former governor.
But the EFCC in a statement on Monday insisted its move to arrest Mr Bello was backed by a court order.
Mr Bello, 48, who left office as governor on 27 January, faces 19 counts of money laundering at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
In the charges, EFCC accused him, his nephew Ali Bello, Dauda Suleiman and Abdulsalam Hudu (said to still be at large) of conspiring to convert the total sum of N80 billion public funds to personal use in February 2016.
The commission alleged that Mr Bello and others “reasonably ought to have known” that the money “forms part of the proceeds of your unlawful activity” – criminal breach of trust.
EFCC also alleged in another count that Mr Bello, between 26 July 2021 to 6 April 2022, in Abuja, aided a firm, E-Traders International Limited, to conceal the aggregate sum of over N3 billion (N3,081,804,654) in account number 1451458080 domiciled in Access Bank Plc.
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