Alhaji Yahaya Bello, former governor of Kogi State, has been remanded in custody by a Federal Capital Territory High Court until December 10 over an allegation of mismanagement of funds. The court will rule on his bail application in the next session

Justice Maryanne Anenih of the High Court reserved her decision on the bail application for the former Kogi governor and his two co-defendants, Umar Shuaibu Oricha and Abdulsalam Hudu, in the case marked FCT/HC/CR/778/24, in which the EFCC filed a 16-count charge against them for allegedly misappropriating N110 billion. The judge said the court will rule on whether the bail application will be granted in the next court session.

Yahaya Bello was finally arraigned at the Federal Capital Territory High Court on Wednesday following his surrender to the EFCC yesterday after several efforts to avoid arrests and trials, including court summons forwarded to him to answer for some financial misappropriations and corruption that allegedly occurred when he was in charge of Kogi State.

Having spent the night in EFCC custody yesterday, the commission brought him to the court concerning a fresh summons Justice Anenih had issued earlier mandating the defendants to appear in court today.

Yahaya Bello appeared in court on Wednesday morning, accompanied by his lawyers and some of his supporters, who reportedly crowded the courtroom and caused a commotion during the trial, prompting the judge to take a break and demand orderliness.

During the court session, the former governor and his co-defendants pleaded not guilty to the allegations made against them, while their legal team led by the former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Joseph Daudu (SAN), applied for their bail on the presumption of their innocence.

He also argued that granting the former Kogi state governor the bail they applied for would afford him effective preparation for his defence to the charge, adding that the defendant received the summons late but decided to appear to comply with the court.

The EFCC legal team, led by Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), on the other hand, urged the court to reject the bail application, pointing out that Yahaya Bello has a history of avoiding trial and that the EFCC’s attempt to arrest the former Kogi governor to stand trial on another charge was abortive.

The prosecution also claimed that the bail was insufficient because it was filed before the court assumed jurisdiction, even though the FCT court had only recently assumed jurisdiction after the defendants were arraigned.

“The prosecution also argued that the bail application can only be made and heard after arraignment, so the application is premature, hasty, and contradicts the meaning of bail,” the prosecution insisted.

In her ruling, the judge ruled that the former Kogi governor and his co-defendants should be kept in the EFCC custody before she ruled on the matter on December 10, 2024.