The Court of Appeal in Abuja has ordered the former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello to present himself for arraignment.
On Tuesday, the court overturned the decision of a Kogi State High Court, which restrained the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, from prosecuting former Kogi State governor Mr. Yahaya Bello on an N80 billion money laundering charge.
The three-man panel of the appellate court, in a unanimous decision read by Justice Ken Amadi, the Court allowed the appeal filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against the judgment of Hon Justice Isah Abdullahi Jamil of the Kogi State High Court in a fundamental right case filed by Bello in February 2024.
Also, The court held that the learned trial Judge had the Charge in FRN VS. ALI BELLO & ANOR, FHC/ABJ/CR/550/2022 in his hand, but still set Yahaya Bello free, under the guise of enforcing his fundamental rights.
The Court also relied on the earlier decision of Justice Olubunmi Oyewole JCA in EFCC vs. Alh. Yahaya Bello, CA/ABJ/CV/413/2024 to reiterate that “No Court has the power to preclude a law enforcement agent from performing its statutory functions.
The EFCC is seeking to arraign Bello on 19 counts bordering on alleged money laundering, breach of trust, and misappropriation of funds to the tune of N80.2 billion.
