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Yahaya Bello asks Federal High Court to adjourn case indefinitely
By Francesca Hangeior.
Former Kogi governor Yahaya Bello has asked the Federal High Court, Abuja, to adjourn, indefinitely, the ongoing case instituted against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC).
He also asked the court to vacate its arrest order on him, pending the determination of an appeal he filed at the Court of Appeal, Abuja.
Bello’s demands are contained in a letter written by Musa Yakubu, his Counsel, who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria(SAN).
The letter was dated July 12 and addressed to the trial Judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, ahead of Bello’s arraignment scheduled for Wednesday, July 17.
Bello is being tried for allegedly laundering N80 billion.
But, in his appeal against his trial, Bello has expressed fears over his fate if the case is left to proceed.
In the Appellate case with file no. CA/ABJ/CR/535/2024, Bello is seeking that the Warrant of Arrest he says was illegally issued against him on April 17, 2024, be set aside.
He also wants a return of the case file to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, for re-assignment to another Judge.
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 the letter, Bello requested that further proceedings in the charge be adjourned sine die, pending the determination of the appeal currently 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.
In the said 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 said warrant of arrest and other related pronouncements of the trial Court.
Bello’s counsel made reference to 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.
“We respectfully urge the Court to set aside and expunge from its records, the proceedings of the 27th June, 2024, including any ruling, order or directive carried out in the face of the defendant’s appeal entered on the 24th of May, 2024,” he said.
He asked the court to “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 Court made on the 10th of May, 2024 refusing to discharge 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.
“The 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”.
Popular sports broadcast journalist with Classic FM 97.3, Temisan Okomi, has died.
A journalist with News Central, Olawale Adigun, confirmed his death in a statement shared on X on Friday.
He wrote on X, “The worst way to go into the weekend is hearing about Temisan Okomi’s passing. I’m so gutted and, at the same time, terrified. This man meant so much to me.”
Recall that news of his death has since stirred reactions on X, with colleagues and fans expressing shock and grief.
The late journalist had worked with Lagos Television, HiTV, and other prominent media organizations in Nigeria.
His last post on X was on April 14, 2026, when he wrote, “The Champions League is hard, man.”
Ibrahim Abdulkarim, a political associate of ex-governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, has claimed that the former governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso, has agreed to deputize the Obi in the 2027 presidential race.
He spoke during an interview on Trust TV, said the Obidients and the Kwankwassiyya Movements are already aligning towards Obi/Kwankwaso ticket.
Asked if Obi and Kwankwaso had struck a deal, Abdulkarim said “yes, I can categorically tell you that they have agreed”.
We all know that. Both the Obidients and the Kwankwassiyya Movements are aware of the agreement”.
Recall that Kwankwaso recently decamped from the New Nigerian Peoples Party, NNPP to the African Democratic Congress, ADC.
His move stirred suspicion that the two political gladiators may have agreed to run for the 2027 presidency on a single ticket.
A coalition of socio-political groups in Adamawa State has vowed to resist the imposition of a governorship candidate ahead of party primaries, even as it resolved to work with Governor Ahmadu Fintiri in producing the next governor of the state.
The coalition, comprising the Gongola Peoples’ Forum (GPF), Adamawa United Forum (AUF) and other allied groups, insisted that indigenous ethnic nationalities in the state would no longer “play second fiddle” in determining political leadership.
Speaking through the Mobilisation Secretary of GPF, Mr. Ibrahim Bebeto, the National Chairman of the forum, Markus Gundiri, said democracy thrives when the majority have their way, while the minority are allowed their say.
He maintained that the state was undergoing a political reawakening, warning that attempts to impose candidates based on what he described as “old oligarchic legacies” would no longer be tolerated.
Gundiri said the coalition speaks for over 85 ethnic nationalities in the state, stressing that lessons from the 2023 governorship election, which he alleged involved attempts to impose a candidate, had strengthened their resolve.
“It has become necessary to sound the warning that in Adamawa State, there is no room for imposition in the name of the will of God. The will of the people is actually the will of God, not the reverse,” he said.
He argued that consensus arrangements within political parties should not be mistaken for the collective will of the people, noting that any aspirant relying on such mechanisms to clinch power was “living in the past.”
“If consensus in a political party were to be taken as the will of the people, the coup against Governor Fintiri and democracy in 2023 would have succeeded. But because the people rejected it, it failed,” Gundiri added.
The coalition urged Governor Fintiri to remain steadfast in defending the mandate of the people and to relay their position to President Bola Tinubu.
“We are pleading with our governor to take this message to the president that the indigenous people of Adamawa State are solidly behind him, but will not accept the imposition of a candidate who is not from the indigenous ethnic nationalities,” he said.
Gundiri further stated that democracy should not be driven by wealth, influence or elite arrangements, but by the popular will of the electorate.
He added that members of the coalition were fully mobilised and ready to support both Governor Fintiri and President Tinubu ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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