No Show: Yahaya Bello Fails to Appear in Court for N80 Billion Fraud Trial; New Arraignment Date Set

Former Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, has once again failed to appear at the Federal High Court in Abuja. The ex-governor is facing charges of corruption, filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), involving an alleged N80 billion fraud.

The EFCC bungled the arraignment on Thursday, abandoning its earlier request to change the arraignment date from June 13 to June 27 without informing the defendant’s lawyers. A new hearing date has now been set for June 27, following the anti-graft agency’s request.

At the resumed hearing, counsel to Bello, Adeola Adedipe, SAN, informed the court that the EFCC lawyers had approached Aliyu AbdulWahab, SAN, the counsel for the defendant, indicating that the June 13 date was inconvenient and suggesting a new date for the arraignment. Despite this agreement, EFCC lawyer Rotimi Oyedepo appeared in court, causing confusion.

“They (EFCC) agreed that junior counsel would be sent to court today to formally pick a date. And the registry can confirm this,” Adedipe stated. He added that lead counsel Kemi Pinhero, SAN, had communicated that June 13 was not convenient.

Bello’s legal team emphasized that they were ready for the arraignment on Thursday, highlighting that under Section 266 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), there are instances when defendants are not required to appear in court.

“Of what use will the defendant coming here be? It is the prosecuting counsel that approached us, we did not approach them. We have nothing to hide,” Adedipe noted.

The court has now officially set June 27 as the new date for Bello’s arraignment.