Jonathan Nwokpor
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Yahaya Bello, the immediate former governor of Kogi State, was granted N500 million bail by the Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday, along with two sureties in an equivalent amount.
This came after the former governor entered a not guilty plea to the 19 counts that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had filed against him.
He entered a not guilty plea to all of the accusations in the purported N80 billion money laundering trial.
The EFCC’s counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, informed the court that the prosecution intended to withdraw an earlier application for abridgment of the earlier date set for arraignment when the case was called for hearing on Friday.
He said that circumstances had taken precedence over the application. Since the defendant’s attorney, Joseph Daudu, SAN, did not raise any objections, Justice Emeka Nwite approved the request.
Daudu, SAN, provided explanations for the defendant’s absence from court during the prior hearings after he had entered his plea.
“I would like to place on record that for any impression that might have been created that the defendant did not wish to appear before your lordship, coincidentally, the ruling on my lord’s sitting this morning dealt with the issue of jurisdiction.
“What the defendant did was to ask his counsel to challenge the jurisdiction of the court, which got to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.
“So it was not wishful disrespect, but he was only trying to defend himself. So we all hold your lordship in high esteem. If that impression must have been, he should not have presented himself for arraignment. That episode is gone, and things are clearer now,” the counsel stated.
He promised that the former governor will always be in court for the trial while submitting an application for bail.
“I am saying this with the highest sense of responsibility that the defendant, a two-term governor of Kogi State who travelled only two times out of his eight years in service, will always be present in court at all times.
“There should be no apprehension that he will jump bail. So we urge your lordship to grant us very reasonable conditions of bail such that he will be able to bear,” the defendant’s counsel said.
Since it wasn’t a do-or-die situation, he praised the prosecution attorney for acting in the best possible way.
According to him, they had decided that the lawyers would not put his lordship under undue stress regarding bail.
The prosecutor agreed.
Pinheiro, SAN, said, “I must express my honour to the very eminent lead senior counsel. He is a man of immense stature, not because of his size.
“I do respect him as former president of NBA. I also confirm that we have been engaging in a series of discussions to ease the burden on your lordship in compliance with Rule 26 of the Rules of Professional Ethics.
“I also note that your lordship had delivered not less than five rulings in this matter and it is our aim to ease the work. We are prosecutors, not persecutors, and EFCC is a professional commission, a prosecutorial, and not prosecutorial commission,” he said.
He added, “We accept the assurances of the very eminent SAN that the defendant will make himself available subject to your lordship’s discretionary terms that may be imposed.
“By so doing, we will ease the burden on the court. Therefore, we will not be opposing the eminent SAN’s submission.”
Despite filing a counter-affidavit, the prosecution counsel stated that, based on the learned SAN’s assurances, they would not contest the bail.
In her decision regarding the bail request, Justice Nwite stated, “I have listened to the submissions of both counsels. It is not in dispute that both counsels have filed applications in respect of this.
“Based on the account exhibited by learned counsel for the defendant, which was exhibited and supported by prosecution counsel, I am minded to change my earlier stand on this matter.”
He gave the defendant two sureties and N500 million bail.
“Sureties must be landed property owners within the jurisdiction of this court. They must swear to affidavits of means. The title deeds of properties to be verified by the court registrar,” he said.
The defendant would stay at the Kuje Correctional Center until the terms of his bail were finalized, and he was also requested to produce his international passport.
As you might recall, the former governor was already placed under remand in connection with a new N110 billion charge brought by the EFCC, pending his bail request.
The judge has scheduled a hearing on the subject for February 24, 2025.
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