Yahaya Bello: Court  of Appeal halts contempt charge against EFCC Chairman

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has ordered a stay of proceedings in the contempt charge that was instituted against the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ola Olukoyede, over the planned trial of the former Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello.

Justice Jamil Abdullahi of the Kogi State High Court had summoned the EFCC Chairman to appear before him on May 13 to show cause why he should not be committed to prison for allegedly disobeying his orders pertaining to the case against the erstwhile governor.

The summon followed a suit marked: HCL/68M/2024 and a motion No: HCL/190M/2024, which the former governor who is facing a 19-count charge the anti-graft agency preferred against him, filed before the court.

Bello contended that the EFCC Chairman flouted an interim order the high court made on February 9, when he directed officials of the Commission to lay siege at his Abuja home in a bid to effect his arrest.

He maintained that the anti-graft agency spurned the subsisting court ruling, when it approached the Federal High Court in Abuja and obtained an ex parte order for his arrest and trial for alleged money laundering, breach of trust and misappropriation of funds to the tune of N80.2 billion.

Therefore, Bello, through his team of lawyers, initiated a form 49 (contempt charge) for the committal of the EFCC chairman to prison for disobedience of court order.

Meanwhile, after he had listened to submissions of Bello’s lawyer, Justice Abdullahi summoned the EFCC boss to appear before him to adduce reasons why the application that was made against him should not be granted.

“The Applicant’s application before me is to the effect that the Respondent has carried out some acts upon which they have been restrained by this court on February 9, pending the determination of the substantive motion on notice before this court.

“That the said act was carried out by the Respondent in violation of the order which was valid and subsisting when they carried out those acts. That same act of the Respondent amounts to an act of contempt.

“It is against the above facts that this court hereby grants the prayers sought in line with the principle of ‘Audi Ultra Patem’ (listen to the other side).

“This matter is adjourned to May 13 for the Respondent’s Chairman to appear before this court in answer to form 49 ordered to be served on him,” the judge held.

Dissatisfied with the court summon, the EFCC Chairman, Olukoyede, took the matter before the Court of Appeal.

Specifically, he filed two motions, for the stay of execution of the summon, as well as for the processes from the appellate court to be served on the former governor, through substituted means by pasting same at his Abuja residence at No 9 Bengazi Steet Wuse Zone 4.

In its ruling, a three-member panel of Justices of the appellate court led by Justice Joseph Oyewole, granted the two motions that were moved on behalf of the EFCC Chairman by his team of lawyers led by Mr. Jubrin Okutekpa, SAN.

The appellate court held that it found merit in the two ex parte applications, even as it fixed May 20 for the substantive appeal marked: CA/ABJ/CV/413/2024, to be heard.

Other members of the appellate court panel that granted the applications, were Justices P. C. Obiora and Okon Abang.