N80.2bn Fraud: Court Blasts Yahaya Bello, Rejects Request To Stop Trial

The request by the embattled immediate past governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, to halt trial in the hearing of the N80.2bn fraud charges against him has been rejected by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.

Bello who has been declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had approached the court, seeking a stay of execution in his trial before Justice Emeka Nwite.

He said there is an appeal filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, before the Court of Appeal, against the contempt application filed by the defendant against the EFCC chairman, Ola Olukoyede.

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However, in his ruling on Friday, Justice Nwite rejected the application made by Bello through his lawyer Abdulwahab Mohammed.

Nwite held that “The application cannot be entertained unless the defendant is present in the court. In the absence of the defendant in court, the motion on notice filed by the complainant can only be conducted if the defendant is in court”.

Justice Nwite held that Bello was trying to make rubbish out of a criminal case by choosing to stay in his house and not respect the court orders.