The planned arraignment of the former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday, was stalled after the court refused the request of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to arraign him in the absence of his lawyers.
The immediate past Kogi governor was scheduled to enter his plea on a fresh 19-count charge on his alleged complicity in an N80.2 billion fraud before trial Justice Emeka Nwite, but when the matter was called up for deliberation, none of Bello’s lawyers, was in court, which prompted Justice Nwite to stand it down.
EFCC’s counsel, Mr. Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), however, urged the court to allow the defendant who had already mounted the dock, to take his plea, relying on provisions of sections 271, 277 and 396 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.
