The Court of Appeal in Abuja did not sit on Monday to hear the appeal by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, against an order of a Kogi High Court restraining the agency from arresting Yahaya Bello, former governor of the state.
Yahaya Bello instituted a fundamental rights enforcement suit against the EFCC restraining them from harassing and threatening to arrest him. His prayers were granted on February 9th in an interim injunction.
On March 12, the EFCC filed an appeal against the interim injunction on the grounds that the court could not stop the commission from carrying out its statutory responsibility.
The Kogi High Court delivered judgement on the substantive motion on notice on April 17 where Justice Isa Jamil Abdullahi, the presiding judge, granted an order restraining the EFCC from continuing to harass, threaten to arrest or detain Bello. The judge, however, directed the commission to file a charge against the former governor before an appropriate court if it had reasons to do so.
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The EFCC is seeking to arraign Bello on 19 counts bordering on alleged money laundering, breach of trust and misappropriation of funds to the tune of N80.2 billion.
At the scheduled arraignment on April 18, Yahaya Bello was absent, and his counsel, referencing the February 9th interim injunction by the Kogi High Court, told the judge that the court lacked the jurisdiction to grant the warrant of arrest in the first instance, adding that the appeal filed by the EFCC is still pending.
The said appeal was scheduled to be heard today, but the court did not sit.
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