By Oluwafikunayo Joseph
Former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, who is facing a 19-count charge, has appealed to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, to allow his trial to take place in Kogi State.
In a letter to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Ex-Governor Yahaya Bello, through his legal team led by Mr. Abdulwahab Mohammed, SAN, argued that the Lokoja Division of the high court has the exclusive territorial jurisdiction to hear the allegations brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
During the trial, Bello did not appear before the Federal High Court in Abuja and did not enter a plea to the charge against him. His lawyer, Mr. Adeola Adedipe, SAN, announced his appearance and informed the trial Justice Emeka Nwite about a letter written by his client to the CJ.Adedipe, SAN, addressed the court,
“After the last adjourned date, I reported back to our team and discovered that a letter had been written on behalf of the defendant to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court.
The letter requested that this matter be administratively transferred to the Federal High Court, Lokoja Judicial Division, as we believe that court has territorial jurisdiction over the matter. The Chief Judge’s office received the letter and notified the prosecution team, led by Mr. Iseoluwa Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, on June 13, requesting a response to the transfer request.
As of this morning, I am not aware of any response from the prosecution team or a decision from the Chief Judge. We have filed an affidavit with attached documents, and my duty is to inform the court of these developments.”In response, the EFCC’s counsel, Mr. Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, requested that the court hold the defense lawyer accountable for the defendant’s absence, despite his earlier commitment to ensure Bello’s presence in court for arraignment on June 13.
Pinheiro argued that the defense lawyer’s explanation was a delay tactic and an attempt to disregard the court’s authority, and he asked the court to dismiss the defense’s narrative as a ploy to further frustrate the legal process.The EFCC’s lawyer argued that the letter written to the Chief Judge did not fulfill the promises made by the defendant’s senior lawyers.
The lawyer also argued that sending a petition to the National Judicial Council would not stop ongoing court cases involving the accused judge.As a result, the lawyer requested that the court should summon the two senior lawyers representing the former governor to explain why they should not be punished for their disrespectful behavior.
Former Kogi State Governor, Bello, is charged with allegations of money laundering, breach of trust and embezzlement of public funds totaling about N80.2 billion along with his nephew and two others-Dauda Suleiman and Abdulsalam Hudu, who were accused of being involved in money laundering.