Yahaya Bello Again Ignores Court Summons in N82bn Fraud Case

Former Kogi State governor Yahaya Adoza Bello did not appear at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday to respond to an N82 billion fraud charge filed against him by the federal government.

Bello was scheduled to be arraigned before Justice Emeka Nwite in the morning, but as of this report, he was neither in the courtroom nor on the court premises.

However, his two lawyers, Mohammed Aliyu and Adeola Adedipe, both Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN), were present in court as required by the court’s order.

The two senior lawyers are expected to address their commitment to produce the former governor for arraignment.

Bello, who has ignored court summons for the sixth time, previously requested the transfer of his trial to Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, where he claimed the court has territorial jurisdiction and where the alleged offense occurred.

His request, submitted via a letter to the Chief Judge of the court, Justice John Tsoho, was denied. He was instructed to make the request in open court as required by law.

Meanwhile, operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) were present at the court for today’s proceedings, along with a team from the EFCC’s media department led by Mr. Dele Oyewale, the Head of the media department.