Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja has ruled that the charges of alleged N80 billion fraud brought by the Federal Government against former Kogi State governor, Yahaya Adoza Bello, must be served through his lawyer, Abdulwahab Mohammed.
The Judge made this decision on Tuesday while addressing an application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for substituted service on Bello.
During the court proceedings, Kemi Pinheiro, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria representing the EFCC, presented the application.
Initially, Bello’s lawyer, Abdulwahab Mohammed, declined to accept the charges and proof of evidence. However, Justice Nwite compelled him to do so.
Despite Mohammed’s request for a junior lawyer in his team to accept the charges on Bello’s behalf, the Judge rejected the plea.
Yahaya Bello was not present in court during the proceedings but was represented by his lawyer.
Last week, Justice Nwite issued a bench warrant against Bello following the EFCC’s application due to his continuous absence from court and evasion of the criminal charges against him.
As a result, the EFCC declared the former governor wanted for his persistent non-appearance in court and avoidance of the criminal charges against him.
