Alhaji Yahaya Bello, the former Governor of Kogi, sought the Federal High Court in Abuja to revoke an arrest warrant issued against him, as conveyed by his legal representative, Abdulwahab Mohammed, SAN, who argued that the court did not have the authority to grant such an order initially.
Mohammed presented this argument to Justice Emeka Nwite during the scheduled arraignment of the ex-governor by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a 19-count money laundering charge, as reported by Obasanjonews.com.
Justice Nwite had previously instructed the EFCC to obtain a warrant for Bello’s arrest, with the directive that Bello should appear in court on the specified day to enter his plea in response to the charges brought against him.
Mohammed informed the court that a preliminary objection had been lodged challenging the arrest warrant, citing a previous ruling by the High Court of Kogi that prohibited the anti-graft agency from arresting, detaining, or prosecuting Bello.
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The lawyer emphasized that the arrest warrant obtained by the EFCC was an attempt to create a conflict between the court and the appellate court, stressing the importance of addressing the issue of jurisdiction as a primary concern.
On the other hand, EFCC’s legal counsel, Kehinde Pinhero, SAN, disagreed with Mohammed’s assertions, stating that the arraignment of Bello was scheduled and that Mohammed, having appeared on behalf of the ex-governor, could be served in court for the proceedings to continue.
Pinhero explained that the arrest warrant was necessary to ensure Bello’s presence in court for his trial, as previous attempts to serve him had failed, highlighting the ongoing nature of the hearing at the time of the report.
