YAHAYA BELLO’S ARRAIGNMENT TODAY MAY STALL AS EX-GOV WANTS APPEAL COURT TO VACATE ARREST WARRANT

download 24 2 jpeg

YAHAYA BELLO’S  ARRAIGNMENT TODAY MAY STALL AS EX-GOV WANTS APPEAL COURT TO VACATE ARREST WARRANT

The arraignment of the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, over the alleged N80 billion money laundering charges made against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), scheduled for today may be stalled again, as Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has been asked to adjourn indefinitely, proceedings in the charge, pending the determination of an appeal filed by the former governor, which is pending at the Court of Appeal, Abuja.

In the Appeal No. CA/ABJ/CR/535/2024, in which the trial Judge, Justice Emeka Nwite is being accused of miscarriage of justice, Bello is, through his Counsels, Musa Yakubu (SAN) & Co, seeking the setting aside of the Warrant of Arrest believed to have been illegally issued against him on April 17, 2024, as well as return of the case file to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, for re-assignment to another Judge.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the appeal was filed against the decisions of the trial Federal High Court, Abuja, in Charge No. FHC/ABJ/CR/98/2024. The former governor is also seeking an order of the Appeal Court, setting aside service of the EFCC Charge on him by substituted means, including the entire proceedings already conducted in the case.

In a letter to Justice Emeka Nwite, dated July 12, 2024, counsel to Bello, Musa Yakubu (SAN) requested that further proceedings in the charge be adjourned sine die pending the determination of the appeal filed by the former governor, which is pending at the Court of Appeal, Abuja.

The letter, a copy of which was sent to the National Judicial Council (NJC) and Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, was in response to a letter to Justice Nwite, by the EFCC, dated July 8, 2024 and filed on the July 10, 2024, according to information from the court registry. In the letter, the EFCC requested for a variation of the earlier warrant of arrest issued against Bello, additionally requesting that the various security agencies be specifically directed to carry out the earlier arrest.

Responding to the EFCC’s application, Bello’s counsel urged the Court to decline the request and await the outcome of the appeal pending at the Court of Appeal over the controversial warrant of arrest and other related pronouncements of the trial Court.

According to counsel to Bello; “Drawing from the position of the law as contained in Order 4 Rule 11(1) of the Court of Appeal Rules, 2021 and the pronouncement of the Supreme Court in the case of Vab Petroleum INC V. Momah [Supra] and a litany of other cases too numerous to mention here; we respectfully urge this Honourable Court ex debito justitiae to: “set aside and expunge from its records the proceedings of the 27th June, 2024, including any ruling, order or directive, same having been conducted in the face of the Defendant’s appeal entered on the 24th of May, 2024 and therefore reached per incuriam;
“Refuse to countenance the application of the Complainant made vide the letter filed on the 10th of July, 2024 and or in the alternative refer same to the Court of Appeal for determination;

“Adjourn further proceedings in this charge sine die pending the determination of Appeal No: CA/ABJ/CR/536/2024 entered by the Defendant and pending at the Court of Appeal, Abuja.”

The letter read in part; “The Defendant to the Charge had on the 17th of May, 2024 filed a notice of appeal against the ruling of this Honourable Court made on the 10th of May, 2024 refusing to discharge brevi manu the warrant of arrest issued against the Defendant.

“The Defendant pursuant to the said notice of appeal, compiled and transmitted record of appeal to the Court of Appeal and entered on the 24th of May, 2024, Appeal No: CA/ABJ/CR/536/2024.

“Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Complainant has now filed the above referenced application seeking for the amendment of the warrant of arrest which was hitherto directed to the complainant only, to have it extended to the heads of other security and law enforcement agencies listed in the prosecuting Counsel’s letter.

“My Lord, this Honourable Court cannot countenance the application or do anything with respect to the aforesaid warrant of arrest or conduct further proceedings in this charge in view of the provisions of Order 4 Rule 11(1) of the Court of Appeal Rules, 2021 which is to the effect that:
“After an appeal has been entered and until it has been finally disposed of, the Court shall be seized of the whole of the proceedings as between the parties thereto.’ Except as may be otherwise provided in these Rules, every application therein shall be made to the Court and not to the lower Court.

“The warrant of arrest upon which the Complainant’s application is predicated, is subject of appeal in Appeal No: CA/ABJ/CR/536/2024 and by the above reproduced provision of the Court of Appeal rules, this Honourable Court has become functus officio and no longer has the jurisdiction to entertain any application or do anything touching on the warrant of arrest issued on the 17th of April, 2024 as the Court of Appeal is now seized of the matter. By virtue of the appeal entered by the Defendant, the warrant of arrest subject of the Complainant’s application is now in total abeyance pending the determination of the Defendant’s appeal one way or another.

“To take any contrary step to the provisions of Order 4 Rule 11(1) of the Court of Appeal Rules, 2021, would be tantamount to undermining the Constitutional guaranteed Appellate jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal under Section 240 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and against the grain of settled position of the law established by the Supreme Court of Nigeria to the effect that, when an appeal has been entered, the lower Court no longer has the jurisdiction to do anything in the matter and ought to abide by the decision of the Appellate Court as any step taken by the trial Court in the face of such appeal is a nullity. see the case ofVab Petroleum INC V. Momah [20131 14 NWLR Part 1374 P. 284.”

Furthermore, the attention of Justice Emeka Nwite was drawn to a similar case, also a criminal appeal,’ in which Justice Ismail Ijelu of the High Court of Lagos State stayed further proceedings, the Appellant having entered an appeal in Appeal No: CAIL/1159/2023 Between Chief Cletus Ibeto V. Federal Republic of Nigeria, challenging the warrant of arrest earlier issued against him, in the face of his preliminary objection challenging the jurisdiction of the lower Court to entertain the charge filed by the Complainant against him.

“The trial High Court, a Court of co-ordinate jurisdiction with Your Lordship’s Court has stayed further proceedings in the charge pending the determination of the appeal entered by the Appellant therein.

“The Complainant’s application to you therefore, ought not to have been filed at all or if need be, ought to be brought before the Court of Appeal, Abuja which is now seized of the matter. The Complainant’s Counsel as a senior member of the Bar is under a duty to have brought the appeal entered by the Defendant to the attention of this Honourable Court even during the proceedings of 27th of June, 2024, is rather proceeding egregiously as if he is oblivious of and impervious to the appeal entered by the Defendant to the Charge before your Lordship’s Court.

“We therefore respectfully urge your Lordship not to be misled sir or hoodwinked by the Complainant into a head on collision with the Court of Appeal, but rather tow the above stated and well-established course of action.“To do otherwise, would be an affront on the hallowed principle of judicial hierarchy and stare decisis which is the very foundation of our legal system,” the letter read further.

  • Dons Eze

    DONS EZE, PhD, Political Philosopher and Journalist of over four decades standing, worked in several newspaper houses across the country, and rose to the positions of Editor and General Manager. A UNESCO Fellow in Journalism, Dr. Dons Eze, a prolific writer and author of many books, attended several courses on Journalism and Communication in both Nigeria and overseas, including a Postgraduate Course on Journalism at Warsaw, Poland; Strategic Communication and Practical Communication Approach at RIPA International, London, the United Kingdom, among others.

    Related Posts

    ENUGU LP HOUSE OF REPS MEMBERS JOIN APC

    Enugu LP House of Reps Members Join APC In a decisive political realignment ahead of the 2027 elections, prominent Labour Party (LP) lawmakers and political figures from Enugu State have defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Their defection, announced at a high-profile APC Progressive Governors’ Forum meeting, marks a major boost for the ruling party’s expansion in the Southeast. Facilitated by the leadership of APC in Enugu, the Honorable Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology, Chief Uche Geoffrey Nnaji, the Deputy National Chairman South, Chief Emma Eneukwu, and the State Party Chairman, Hon. Ugochukwu Agballah, the move strengthens APC’s strategic positioning in the region. Agballah officially presented five influential LP defectors, including sitting members of the House of Representatives and former political officeholders, who have now pledged their allegiance to APC: The event, witnessed by top APC figures, underscored the party’s growing appeal in the Southeast. Present were APC National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje, Chairman of the Governors’ Forum and Governor of Kwara State, Alhaji Abdurahman Abdurazaq, alongside Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State, Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo of Kogi State, Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River State, and Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State, among other high-ranking officials. This defection signals a significant power shift in Enugu, traditionally an opposition stronghold. Political analysts see it as a calculated move that could redefine the state’s political dynamics heading into 2027. Hon. Ugochukwu Agballah welcomed the defectors, emphasizing the party’s commitment to progress, leadership, and inclusive governance.“ The APC is a party of growth and opportunity. We welcome progressive minds who are ready to drive transformation in Enugu and the Southeast,” Agballah stated. With this strategic reinforcement, APC is making bold moves to solidify its influence in Enugu, setting the stage for a competitive 2027 election.

    KENNETH OKONKWO QUITS LABOUR PARTY, GIVES REASONS

    KENNETH OKONKWO QUITS LABOUR PARTY, GIVES REASONS A former spokesperson for the Labour Party (LP) Presidential Campaign Organisation in 2023, Kenneth Okonkwo, has announced his resignation from the party. Announcing his resignation from the party on Tuesday, Kenneth Okonkwo thanked Nigerians for the support they gave the Labour Party during the 2023 presidential election. “We were the only party that had 25% foothold in all six geo-political zones and the Federal Capital Territory. I believe that we won the election under the Labour Party with your support but were denied the victory through technical glitch”, he said. He stated that by February 25, 2025, it will be two years after the 2023 presidential election and two years before the next presidential election. “It’s a democratic convention worldwide that effective political consultations, alignments, and re-alignments commence two years to the next election. Unfortunately, the Labour Party, as presently constituted, is not in a position to be part of that political force that will determine the political future of Nigeria. According to him, Labour Party as presently constituted does not exist. “In the constitution of Labour Party, the tenure of the ward, local government, and state party executives is three years. Having conducted no congresses at these levels within the constitutionally allowed tenure of the executives, their regimes have effectively expired. “The former National Chairman of Labour Party, Julius Abure, and his former National Working Committee, having conducted no national convention known to law, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the courts having held that the issue of the leadership of a political party is the internal affair of a political party for which the courts do not have the jurisdiction to entertain, there’s no effective leadership of Labour Party at the national level. “The Senator Nenadi Usman-led Caretaker Committee, which was duly and legally set up by the National Executive Council (NEC) of the Labour Party, after the non-recognition of Abure-led National Working Committee (NWC) by INEC, and was given six months to conduct congresses and the convention, was the only viable option towards salvaging the Labour Party. “Unfortunately, Abure and his colleagues, with the collaboration of outside forces, launched unnecessary legal challenges against this Caretaker Committee that have inhibited it from functioning. It’s more than six months after the inauguration of the Committee, and the Committee has not even taken off, leading many to conclude that the objective of these politicians of bread and butter with their outside collaborators is to bog down the serious members of Labour Party with frivolous and unnecessary litigation till the 2027 election is over. Isn’t it curious that a national executive of a political party whose elected members are defecting everyday to other parties, and who can not wage legal battles to recover these seats for their party, is waging ferocious legal battles to maintain their destructive, choking hold on the party. ” It’s obvious that Abure is not interested in the survival of Labour Party as he is interested in the survival of his pocket. If he is interested in the emergence of a southern candidate in Labour Party to challenge Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election, going by the convention of having a northern national chairman of a party and a southern presidential candidate of the same party, whenever going into election, the first thing he would have done is to cede the position of national chairman to the North since the party is interested in fielding a presidential candidate from the South. “This was the suggestion of people like us who are genuinely interested in the survival and flourishing of Labour Party. Nigerians, especially the North, may have overlooked the combination of both the … national chairman and presidential candidate from…

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    You Missed

    SHARIA: YORUBA MUSLIMS NOT YOUR SLAVES – AKINTOYE TELLS SULTAN

    ENUGU LP HOUSE OF REPS MEMBERS JOIN APC

    • By Dons Eze
    • February 12, 2025
    • 38 views

    CAMBRIDGE HONOURS NIGERIAN PHD STUDENT FOR BIAFRA HERITAGE PROJECT

    • By Dons Eze
    • February 12, 2025
    • 18 views

    NORTHERN EMIR BANS CHURCH ACTIVITIES IN CHRISTIAN FAMILIES

    • By Dons Eze
    • February 12, 2025
    • 52 views

    TOO MANY PEOPLE COME TO UK TO WORK ILLEGALLY – PRIME MINISTER VOWS TO END IT

    • By Dons Eze
    • February 12, 2025
    • 35 views

    TENSIONS RISE BETWEEN ANAMBRA, IMO OVER KILLING OF TWO RESIDENTS BY SOLUDO’S AGUNECHEMBA