Transfer My Case With EFCC To Kogi – Yahaya Bello Tells Court As He Fails To Appear For 5th Time
Former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, on Thursday, June 27, requested the Federal High Court in Abuja to transfer the fraud case brought against him by the federal government to Kogi State, where the alleged crime occurred.
His lawyers made this request to the Chief Judge of the Court, Justice John Tsoho, as Bello failed to appear before the court for the fifth time over an alleged N82 billion embezzlement.
During the proceedings, Bello’s counsel, Adeola Adedipe, SAN, informed Justice Emeka Nwite that his client had written to the Chief Judge, seeking to have the trial moved to Lokoja. Adedipe explained that the former governor preferred to be arraigned in Lokoja, citing that the court there has territorial jurisdiction over the case.
This request follows a previous commitment made on June 13 by Yahaya Bello’s lawyer to produce him in court for the arraignment scheduled for today.
The prosecution, led by Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, has called for Bello’s lead counsel, Abdulwahab Mohammed, and Adeola Adedipe, both Senior Advocates, to be tried for contempt for “misleading the court.”
