Crime
JUST IN: Yahaya Bello Vs EFCC: Court adjourns to January 21 for ruling or arraignment
A Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned hearing in the money laundering case brought against the immediate-past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, to January 21, 2025.
At the resumed hearing on Wednesday, Counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, told Justuce Emeka Nwite that he had two witnesses already in court.
He said his first application was to formally apply that the court should enter a plea of not guilty on behalf of the defendant, even in his absence.
“My first application is to formally enter a plea of not guilty to the defendant, even in his absence. The second point is, not withstanding his physical absence, it is in full compliance with Section 276 of ACJA.
“Flowing from that entry my lord, it is a humble request that we call the first witness,” he stated.
Pinheiro, SAN, in defending his application to enter a plea of not guilty for the defendant, said “the right to plead guilty or not guilty is a right that can be waved by the defendant.
“My lord should hold that the defendant has waved that right.
“What prejudice will the defendant suffer if my lord enters a plea of guilty or not guilty in his absence? Even if he was in court and pleaded not guilty, the situation will still be the same.
The entry of plea of not guilty by your lordship is an invitation to the prosecution to come and prove the veracity of the allegations,” he added.
Michael Adoyi, who appeared for the defendant, however kicked against this, saying that the Prosecution’s application was made contrary to a subsisting order of the judge.
“Our first point of response to the application made by the learned senior counsel to the complainant is that the application is made contrary to the subsisting order of this honourable court, even made this morning – that no application can be entertained by this court in the absence of the arraignment of the defendant.
“The prosecution has stated severally that the court cannot demonstrate helplessness.
The court cannot demonstrate any helplessness in any proceeding and if at all helplessness exists in this proceeding, that helplessness is demonstrated by the prosecution,” he said.Adoyi argued that the court, in a criminal trial, is immune and distinct from the prosecution.
Citing Supreme Court verdicts on similar matters, he said, “The application made by learned senior counsel for the complainant this morning is a dangerous invitation to this honourable court to aide the prosecution in the performance of its duty of presenting the defendant before the court for arraignment and subsequent trial.
“He argued that civil proceeding was different from criminal proceeding.
The Defendant’s Counsel noted that the prosecution’s application could not be anchored on any of the provisions of the ACJA, 2015 that he had cited, as “those provisions do not excuse the need for physical presence of the defendant.”
“In view of this, we urge my lord to refuse the application made by the senior counsel to the complainant,” he said.
The Prosecution Counsel, however, told the court to dismiss Adoyi’s arguments and go ahead with his ruling on entering a plea of not guilty for the Defendant.
Justice Nwite, however, said it might not be possible to deliver the ruling this year.
“It may not be possible to deliver this ruling this year.
You know I am just coming as vacation judge. So what are we agreeing on now learner silk?” he asked. Pinheiro said the matter would be for ruling and/or arraignment of the defendant.
The Judge thereafter adjourned to 21st January, 2025 for ruling on the application by the EFCC and/or arraignment.
Recall that, at the last hearing on September 25, the Counsel to the defendant, A.M. Adoyi, had told the court that the issue of arraignment of the defendant was the subject matter of an appeal entered by the defendant at the Supreme Court with the Appeal Number: “SC/CR/847/2024 and SC/CR/848/2024”.
He said the most appropriate thing to do was to await the decision of the Supreme Court in the aforesaid appeal before taking any step for arraignment so as not to pull the rug off the feet of the Supreme Court.
Crime
Gateman flees after murder of a manager with Okeyson Transport
They went to Abdullahi Dairu, and he mentioned one of his friends, claiming he went out with him. But when the wife called that same friend, he said he hadn’t seen him that day,” the source stated.
Image credit : Instagram
A gateman identified as Abdullahi Dairu has been nowhere to be found following the murder of a 67-year-old man, Chief Augustine Nwalieze, a manager with Okeyson Transport.
Chief Nwalieze’s body was discovered with deep machete wounds in his home at Ajah area of Lagos State, a development that has thrown his family and friends into mourning.
It was learned that Nwalieze was attacked Saturday morning as he prepared to go out.
Nwalieze lived with his wife, daughter, two maids, and another woman, who were upstairs at the time of the incident.
A family source said the victim’s gateman identified as Abdullahi Dairu has been nowhere to be found since the incident.
According to the source, Dairu allegedly attacked Nwalieze for yet-to-be-ascertained reasons as the victim walked downstairs to the car park, close to the store where spare parts from his cars are kept and a solar panel was stored.
“Nobody could really tell what happened. They didn’t hear the sound of any car driving off or the gate opening.
His three cars were still parked, so, they became worried about his whereabouts.
They called his phone, but he didn’t pick up,” the source said.
The source added that Dairu could not give a straight answer when questioned about his boss’ whereabouts.
They went to Abdullahi Dairu, and he mentioned one of his friends, claiming he went out with him. But when the wife called that same friend, he said he hadn’t seen him that day,” the source stated.
The case against Dairu grew stronger after he went into hiding, the source further stated.“
By the time they returned to question him again, he had disappeared. That was when they began to search the compound thoroughly.
They found his lifeless body in one of the flats downstairs.
He had machete cuts on his head, hands, and body. It was a terrible sight,” the source disclosed.
The victim was immediately rushed to hospital but efforts to revive him failed.
The Department of State Services (DSS) on Thursday arraigned former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai on a newly amended five-count charge involving the alleged unlawful wiretapping of National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu.
Appearing before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik at the Federal High Court in Abuja, El-Rufai pleaded not guilty to all counts.
The charges allege violations of the Cybercrimes Amendment Act 2024 and the Nigerian Communications Act 2003, specifically regarding unauthorized interception of communications and compromising public safety.
The case originated from a February 13, 2026, interview on Arise News, where El-Rufai reportedly admitted to tapping the NSA’s phone lines. He claimed the surveillance revealed a plot by the DSS to arrest him at the Abuja airport following a trip to Cairo.
On March 2, the ICPC raided El-Rufai’s Abuja residence, reportedly recovering specialized wiretapping equipment and documents.
A major point of contention during the proceedings was the prosecution’s application to conceal the identities of two key witnesses.
The Prosecution argued that using pseudonyms is necessary to protect the witnesses and their families from potential attacks by El-Rufai’s sympathizers.
The Defence lead counsel Oluwole Iyamu, SAN, opposed the request, arguing it is a constitutional right for the accused to face his accusers. He noted there was no evidence that El-Rufai leads a “cult-like” following or poses any physical threat.
The defense team also moved to quash the charges entirely, though the prosecution urged the court to dismiss the application as meritless.
Furthermore, Iyamu objected to a request for three consecutive trial days, citing the difficulty of accessing his client. El-Rufai is currently in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on separate matters.
Justice Abdulmalik adjourned the case until May 18, 19, and 20, when the court will rule on the pending applications and begin the trial. If convicted, the former governor faces up to three years in prison.
The Department of State Services (DSS) has arraigned former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, on a five-count amended charge bordering on an alleged breach of national security.
El-Rufai, who was arraigned before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja, pleaded not guilty to all counts.
When the case was called, counsel to the DSS, Oluwole Aladedoye, informed the court that the matter was fixed for the defendant to take his plea.
Aladedoye, however, told the court that a further amended five-count charge had been filed on April 13.
The lawyer prayed the court to substitute it for the earlier three-count charge.
Responding, counsel to El-Rufai, Oluwole Iyamu, said he had been served with the amended charge and did not oppose the application.
The judge subsequently struck out the earlier three-count charge.
After the counts were read, the former governor pleaded not guilty, and Aladedoye sought three consecutive trial dates.
Iyamu, however, objected to the request for consecutive trial days for the commencement of trial.
He submitted that since the defendant had been in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), access to him within that period might be difficult.
According to him, the proposed schedule would not be in the best interest of the defence.
Iyamu also informed the court of a bail application filed on February 17.
However, the further affidavit in support of the bail application was not in the court file, prompting the judge to stand down the matter for Iyamu to address the issue.
Upon resumption, the further affidavit was located.
The DSS stated that it did not oppose the bail application.
The prosecution then moved an application seeking an order to conceal the identities of two witnesses expected to testify.
The DSS requested that:
• The identities of the witnesses should not appear in public court records.
• Pseudonyms should be used during the trial.
The prosecution argued that the witnesses’ families could be vulnerable to attack from persons sympathetic to El-Rufai.
The defence opposed the request through an application, written address, and further affidavit, urging the court to dismiss it.
The defence argued that it is the constitutional right of an accused person to know his accusers.
It further submitted that there was no evidence before the court to suggest that El-Rufai had a cult-like following or posed any threat.
Counsel stated that the defendant had dedicated his life to public service and warned that granting a blanket anonymity order could cause serious prejudice to the accused.
The defence also applied for an order directing the prosecution to furnish it with proof of evidence to prepare for trial.
The prosecution opposed the request through a counter-affidavit.
It argued that the materials sought by the defence were unrelated to the prosecution’s filed processes.
The defence informed the court that it had also filed an application to quash the charge.
• Legal arguments were raised that an application to quash cannot be brought after a plea has been taken.
The prosecution filed a written address urging the court to dismiss the application for lacking merit.
The case has been adjourned till May 18 for continuation of hearing.
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