On Friday, May 10, the Federal High Court, Abuja division, granted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)’s application for the former Governor of Kogi, Yahaya Bello, to appear in court for his trial.
Justice Emeka Nwite, in a ruling, held that the former governor ought to appear before the court before making any application.
As reported by The Nation, he insisted that even if the arrest warrant was illegally obtained, the defendant (Bello) should have still shown up in court.
Recall that on April 23, the court ordered the EFCC to serve the former governor with the money laundering charges against him through his lawyer.
In a ruling on Friday, Nwite reiterated that an applicant or defendant who willfully disobeys the orders of a court of competent jurisdiction is not entitled to be heard by the court.
As reported by ThisDay, the judge, while remarking that even if his orders were issued in error, âthe humble thing for him to do is to make himself available in courtâ.
The trial Judge held that since Bello has continued to disobey court orders, he would not be allowed to file any application or be heard, The Nigerian Tribune reported.
TimesNow.com.ng earlier reported that the EFCC laid a siege at the Abuja home of the former Kogi governor.
Yahaya Bello’s residence on Benghazi Street, Wuse Zone 4, in Abuja, was captured in a video bombarded with the officers of the anti-graft agency.
Source: TimesNow.com.ng
