Former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, for the fifth time, did not appear before the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday for his arraignment in the N82bn fraud case brought against him by the federal government.
Bello’s counsel, Adeola Adedipe, SAN, informed Justice Emeka Nwite that his client had applied to Chief Judge Justice John Tsoho to transfer the trial to Lokoja, the capital of Kogi State.
READ ALSO: Court Rejects Yahaya Bello’s Request to Halt N80.2bn Fraud Trial
Adedipe argued that Lokoja court has territorial jurisdiction and Bello preferred to be arraigned there.
READ ALSO: YAHAYA BELLO: VICTIM OR AGGRESSOR?
The prosecution, led by Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, has raised legal disputes, demanding that Bello’s lead counsel, Abdulwahab Mohammed, and Adeola Adedipe, both Senior Advocates, be tried for contempt for allegedly misleading the court.
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