Jonathan Nwokpor
Yahaya Bello, the former governor of Kogi State, asked the Federal High Court in Abuja’s Justice Emeka Nwite to vacate the arrest warrant that had been issued for him. However, Nwite denied his motion.
The former governor was found in contempt of court for refusing to appear for his arraignment on a criminal charge, according to the judge, and as such, he was not entitled to any discretion or favor.
Bello’s persistent unwillingness to appear in court for his arraignment was deemed by the court to be an indication that he was taking the court for granted, according to the order it delivered on Friday in response to his motion to have the arrest warrant discharged.
The court stated that Bello could not dictate to a court where he was to be arraigned from the comfort of his room, even if it dismissed the request for lack of substance.
The judge also rejected the former governor’s argument that the Federal High Court lacks authority to hear the criminal allegations against him.
Bello can only proceed with an application or request once he has made himself available for arraignment and had his plea taken, according to Justice Nwite.
On April 23, Bello claimed that since his lead counsel, Abdulwahab Mohammed, acknowledged the service of the criminal charges on his behalf regarding the alleged N80 billion money laundering accusation levied against him by the Federal Government, the arrest warrant against him was no longer necessary.
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