Bello to court: I want to be tried in Kogi over alleged N80bn fraud

Embattled former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, is seeking the transfer of his case filed by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC, to Kogi State.

Specifically, the former governor asked the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court Abuja, Justice John Tsoho, to transfer his trial in alleged N80 billion money laundering suit to Lokoja.

According to Bello, he preferred to be arraigned in Lokoja, since that was the place the alleged offence was committed.

Bello, who was represented by his counsel, Adeola Adedipe (SAN), on Thursday, told Justice Emeka Nwite that a letter requesting for the transfer of the trial had already been delivered to the Chief Judge for his administrative decision.

Specifically, Adedipe said the request for Lokoja was due to the fact that the Federal High Court has territorial jurisdiction to hear the matter in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital.

Adedipe said that the legal team of the former Kogi governor was still awaiting the response of the Chief Judge on the request for transfer of the case to Lokoja.

He said the prosecution had been notified and their opinion had been sought via a letter dated 14th June, 2024 from the Chief Judge’s office.

The letter was also addressed to Counsel for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), and signed by the Special Assistant to the Chief Judge, Joshua Ibrahim Aji, Esq.

But the EFCC opposed the request for transfer as the lead counsel, Dr Kemi Pinheiro described the request as an attempt to frustrate the trial.

The EFCC lawyer asked Justice Emeka Nwite to hold Adeola Adedipe (SAN) and Abdulwahab Mohammed (SAN), responsible for their inability to produce their client in court, despite the undertakings they made.

The EFCC lawyer also requested that the two senior advocates be cited for contempt of court.

The court has, however, fixed July 17, for arraignment of the former governor and ruling on the request of EFCC to cite the senior lawyers for contempt.

Bello is being arraigned on 19 counts bordering on alleged money laundering, breach of trust, and misappropriation of funds to the tune of N80.2 billion.