The EFCC's appeal case in the Court of Appeal, Abuja division, to overturn the Kogi State court order preventing them from arresting, detaining, and prosecuting the former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, was stopped on Monday because the judge was not there.
A Kogi state High Court judge, I. A Jamil, on Wednesday, April 17, ordered that the EFCC should not arrest, detain, or prosecute Bello.
Not happy with the restraining order, the EFCC went to Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja for an arrest warrant, which was granted.
When giving the arrest warrant, Justice Nwite said, “It is hereby ordered as follows:
That an order of this honourable court is hereby made directing and/or issuing a warrant for the immediate arrest of the defendant to bring him before this honourable court for arraignment.
The case is adjourned until April 18 for arraignment.”
The EFCC aims to arraign Bello on a 19-count charge related to alleged money laundering, breach of trust, and misappropriation of funds totaling N80.2 billion.
However, Bello was not in court on Thursday, April 18 for his arraignment because the EFCC couldn’t arrest him.
The EFCC counsel, Kemi Pinehero, (SAN) argued in court that he was taken away by someone with immunity.
The appeal against the Kogi court order is marked CA/ABJ/PRE/RDA/CV/165MI, with the EFCC as the appellant and Bello as the sole respondent in the case.
The EFCC contested the Kogi court order in the appeal because it is authorized by statute to carry out specific functions and investigate and prosecute economic crimes under sections 6 and 7 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Act.
