Former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, will spend the weekend in custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as he has failed to meet his bail conditions......Read The Full Article>>.....Read The Full Article>>
Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Friday, admitted Bello to N500m bail in the alleged N80.2bn money laundering suit.
In his ruling, Justice Nwite ordered the former governor to produce two sureties in like sum, who must own properties in Abuja, verified by the registrar of the court.
Additionally, the two sureties alongside Bello must deposit recent passport photographs to the court, while Bello was ordered to deposit his international passport with the court.
Justice Nwite ordered him be remanded in the Kuje Correctional Center, Abuja, pending the perfection of the bail conditions.
However, a source who spoke to THE WHISTLER late Friday revealed that Bello failed to meet his bail conditions on Friday, meaning he gets to wait until next week to exit the EFCC custody.
According to the source, documents submitted to the court on behalf of the former governor remain unverified. This suggests that Bello may need to wait until Monday to fulfill the court’s specified conditions.
The former governor was on Friday arraigned on 19-count charge of money laundering, fraud and misappropriation of funds to the tune of N80.2b, brought against him by the EFCC.
The arraignment earlier scheduled for November 29 was stalled after the EFCC brought him to court without his lawyers present.
However, when the charges were read to him on Wednesday, he pleaded not guilty to all 19 counts.
Earlier, Bello tendered an unreserved apology to Justice Nwite over the controversy that surrounded his arraignment.
Bello, who was originally due to be arraigned on April 18, failed to appear in court and challenged his trial on grounds of jurisdiction.
Attempts by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to arrest him also proved abortive despite an arrest warrant by Justice Nwite.
The former governor failed to appear in court for six consecutive sittings. He took his jurisdictional case up to the Supreme Court.
Addressing the court on Friday, Bello’s counsel, Joseph Daudu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, claimed that Bello’s actions were to defend himself in the best way possible and not disrespect the court.
Delivering his ruling, Justice Nwite said he was moved to grant Bello bail due to the actions of his counsel and the manner he addressed the court.
He therefore admitted him to N500m bail and adjourned till February 24 for commencement of trial.
