Court Adjourns Yahaya Bello’s Money Laundering Case To January 21 For Ruling Or Arraignment

The Federal High Court in Abuja has postponed further hearings in the money laundering case against Yahaya Bello, the former Governor of Kogi State, to January 21, 2025. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) accuses Bello of money laundering, with prosecution efforts led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Kemi Pinheiro.

At Wednesday’s hearing, Pinheiro informed Justice Emeka Nwite of his intention to enter a plea of “not guilty” on behalf of Bello, even in his absence, citing Section 276 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA).

“My first application is to formally enter a plea of not guilty to the defendant, even in his absence. The second point is, not withstanding his physical absence, it is in full compliance with Section 276 of ACJA. Flowing from that entry my lord, it is a humble request that we call the first witness,” he stated.

Pinheiro, SAN, in defending his application to enter a plea of not guilty for the defendant, said “the right to plead guilty or not guilty is a right that can be waved by the defendant. My lord should hold that the defendant has waved that right. What prejudice will the defendant suffer if my lord enters a plea of guilty or not guilty in his absence? Even if he was in court and pleaded not guilty, the situation will still be the same.

He added, “The entry of plea of not guilty by your lordship is an invitation to the prosecution to come and prove the veracity of the allegationsz”

However, Michael Adoyi, representing Bello, opposed the motion, arguing that the prosecution’s application conflicted with a previous court order requiring the defendant’s physical presence for any plea to be entered.

“Our first point of response to the application made by the learned senior counsel to the complainant is that the application is made contrary to the subsisting order of this honourable court, even made this morning – that no application can be entertained by this court in the absence of the arraignment of the defendant. “The prosecution has stated severally that the court cannot demonstrate helplessness. The court cannot demonstrate any helplessness in any proceeding and if at all helplessness exists in this proceeding, that helplessness is demonstrated by the prosecution,” he said, arguing that the court, in a criminal trial, is immune and distinct from the prosecution.

Citing Supreme Court verdicts on similar matters, he said, “The application made by learned senior counsel for the complainant this morning is a dangerous invitation to this honourable court to aide the prosecution in the performance of its duty of presenting the defendant before the court for arraignment and subsequent trial.” He argued that civil proceeding was different from criminal proceeding.

The Defendant’s Counsel noted that the prosecution’s application could not be anchored on any of the provisions of the ACJA, 2015 that he had cited, as “those provisions do not excuse the need for physical presence of the defendant. In view of this, we urge my lord to refuse the application made by the senior counsel to the complainant,” he said.

The Prosecution Counsel, however, told the court to dismiss Adoyi’s arguments and go ahead with his ruling on entering a plea of not guilty for the Defendant.

Justice Nwite acknowledged the complexity of the situation, noting that a ruling may not be feasible within the year, as he is currently serving as the vacation judge. Both counsels then agreed to reconvene on January 21 for either a ruling on the EFCC’s application or Bello’s arraignment.

This adjournment follows an earlier session on September 25, where Adoyi advised the court to await a Supreme Court decision on related appeals to avoid any conflict.

Chioma Kalu

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