Scheduled for May 10, the Federal High Court in Abuja will rule on the application filed by former Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, seeking to revoke an arrest warrant issued against him.
During the court session on Tuesday, Bello argued that the arrest warrant was no longer necessary as his lead counsel, Abdulwahab Mohammed, had accepted the service of the criminal charges on his behalf regarding the alleged N80 billion money laundering charge brought by the Federal Government.
Despite his absence in court to enter a plea, Bello’s counsel, Adeola Adedipe, SAN, presented the application requesting Justice Emeka Nwite to cancel the earlier arrest order for his client.
Among the points raised, the senior lawyer contended that the issuance of the arrest warrant to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) by the court had violated Yahaya Bello’s right to fair hearing.
Adedipe further argued against the constitutionality of the EFCC, stating that its establishment had not been ratified by all 36 states of the Federation.
He insisted that for the EFCC to be constitutionally valid, all states must ratify the law establishing it, instead of the current situation where the EFCC Establishment Act was unilaterally ratified by the Federal Government.
Hence, he urged the judge to withdraw the arrest warrant against the former governor based on the arguments presented.
However, the EFCC strongly opposed the request, deeming it unfamiliar, groundless, and premature. Lead counsel for the EFCC, Kemi Pinhero, SAN, informed Justice Nwite that the arrest warrant could only be lifted once Yahaya Bello physically appeared in court to respond to the charges against him.
Pinhero asserted that despite the lawyer’s acceptance of the charges on Bello’s behalf, the arrest warrant would remain until Bello appeared in court voluntarily or was brought by the EFCC.
He urged Justice Nwite to dismiss the claim that the EFCC was unconstitutional, highlighting the lawful passage of the bill establishing the agency by the National Assembly after receiving presidential approval.
Alternatively, Pinhero proposed that Yahaya Bello’s lawyers assure the court of producing their client on the next hearing date for arraignment, with the EFCC committing not to execute the arrest warrant.
Rejecting the offer as unnecessary and legally unsupported, Yahaya Bello’s lawyer, Adeola Adedipe, SAN, declined to accept it.
Justice Nwite, after hearing arguments from both sides, set May 10 as the date for delivering the ruling on the application.
Earlier that day, the judge had instructed Yahaya Bello’s lead lawyer, Abdulwahab Mohammed, to acknowledge the charges against Bello on his behalf since he had appeared in court and filed documents.
The lawyer complied with the court’s directive by acknowledging and accepting the charges in writing.