BREAKING: EFCC and Yahaya Bello’s Lawyers Clash in Open Court, Judge Walks Out

The planned arraignment of Yahaya Bello, former governor of Kogi State, on alleged N82 billion fraud charges took a dramatic turn on Wednesday when two senior advocates clashed during the proceedings.

The two lawyers involved were Abdulwahab Mohammed, representing Bello, SAN, and Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, representing the federal government.

The conflict began when Mohammed announced his appearance for the former governor but omitted his colleague, Adeola Adedipe, SAN. The federal government’s counsel objected, arguing that Adedipe should remain part of the proceedings until officially discharged by the court.

Adedipe interrupted the federal government lawyer, asserting that he was not prepared to participate in the proceedings. Mohammed then interjected, stating that Adedipe had filed a notice of withdrawal.

As Justice Emeka Nwite prepared to rule on the matter, Bello’s lawyer stood and requested to leave the proceedings if the court proceeded with the ruling.

Mohammed, visibly angry, accused Pinheiro of being a “rough lawyer” who misleads the court. His attempt to further insult the federal government lawyer was stopped, but Mohammed refused to apologize, threatening to leave the court if the judge continued with the ruling.

As tensions escalated, Justice Emeka Nwite abruptly ended the proceedings by retreating to his chambers. At the time of this report, the courtroom remained tense.