Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja has directed that former Kogi State governor Yahaya Adoza Bello’s counsel, Abdulwahab Mohammed, be served with the Federal Government’s charges on suspected N80 billion fraud.
The order was made by the Judge on Tuesday while deciding on a plea for substituted service brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against Bello.
The motion was contested by Kemi Pinheiro, the anti-graft agency’s lead lawyer and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
Justice Nwite forced Bello’s counsel, Abdulwahab Mohammed, to accept the allegations and proof of evidence when he first refused.
The Judge denied the senior counsel’s request that a junior lawyer on his team, AI Musa, accept the accusations on behalf of the former governor.
Yahaya Bello was not present in court on Tuesday, but was represented by his lawyer.
Justice Nwite issued a bench warrant against Bello last week after the EFCC filed an application for one.
The EFCC then designated the former governor wanted for his repeated absence from court and evasion of criminal proceedings against him.
cc: Daily Post Ng
