Former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Adoza Bello, has launched a new effort to delay his scheduled arraignment before the Federal High Court in Abuja on charges of allegedly misappropriating N82 billion.
On Wednesday, Bello’s lawyer, Abdulwahab Mohammed SAN, filed an application requesting the court to stay proceedings. The basis for this request is that Bello has filed two notices of appeal with the Court of Appeal in Abuja, challenging the Federal High Court’s jurisdiction over the criminal charges against him.
Bello argued that his appeals have been duly entered and that the record of proceedings from the high court has been transmitted to the appellate court. He also requested that the court expunge the proceedings of June 27 from the court records, asserting that his appeals were entered at the time of those proceedings.
Consequently, Bello urged Justice Emeka Nwite to halt his trial until the Court of Appeal rules on his jurisdictional appeal.
However, the federal government, represented by counsel Kemi Pinheiro SAN, strongly opposed the request to suspend the trial. Pinheiro argued that the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Act do not support such a request. He cited sections 306 of the ACJA and 40 of the EFCC Act to bolster his objection, asserting that these provisions preclude a stay of proceedings in criminal matters.
Pinheiro further contended that the authority cited by Bello’s counsel applies only to civil matters and not to the criminal case at hand.
Justice Emeka Nwite is set to deliver a ruling on the application.
DailyPost