Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja has rejected the plea of former Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, to lift the arrest warrant issued against him.
The judge stated that Bello, by refusing to appear for arraignment in a criminal case, had shown contempt for the court and was not entitled to any leniency.
In his ruling on Friday regarding Bello’s application to cancel the arrest warrant, the court emphasized that Bello cannot evade arraignment and then dictate terms to the court from the comfort of his room.
The judge also dismissed Bello’s argument that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to hear the criminal charges against him, asserting that Bello must first appear for arraignment and enter a plea before any such claim could be considered.
Bello had previously argued that the arrest warrant was unnecessary, as his legal representative had accepted service of the criminal charges related to an alleged N80 billion money laundering case on his behalf.
More details to follow…
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