He insisted that when the anti-graft agency went to the Federal High Court in Abuja and requested an ex parte order for his arrest and trial on charges of money laundering, breach of trust, and theft of funds totaling N80.2 billion, it disregarded the existing court ruling.
A stay of the proceedings in the contempt case brought against Mr. Ola Olukoyede, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), over the scheduled trial of Alhaji Yahaya Bello, the former Governor of Kogi State, has been ordered by the Court of Appeal located in Abuja.
The Kogi State High Court’s Justice Jamil Abdullahi had called the EFCC Chairman to appear before him on May 13 to provide justification for not being sent to prison for allegedly defying his directives regarding the case against the former governor.
The summons came after a lawsuit with the file number HCL/68M/2024 and a motion with the court file number HCL/190M/2024, which was submitted by the former governor, who is accused of 19 counts by the anti-graft agency.
Bello said that when the EFCC Chairman ordered Commission employees to besiege his residence in Abuja in an attempt to make an arrest, he was disobeying an interim injunction issued by the high court on February 9.
He insisted that when the anti-graft agency went to the Federal High Court in Abuja and requested an ex parte order for his arrest and trial on charges of money laundering, breach of trust, and theft of funds totaling N80.2 billion, it disregarded the existing court ruling.
Therefore, Bello, through his team of lawyers, initiated a form 49 (contempt charge) for the committal of the EFCC chairman to prison for disobedience of court order.
Meanwhile, after he had listened to submissions of Bello’s lawyer, Justice Abdullahi summoned the EFCC boss to appear before him to adduce reasons why the application that was made against him should not be granted.
“The Applicant’s application before me is to the effect that the Respondent has carried out some acts upon which they have been restrained by this court on February 9, pending the determination of the substantive motion on notice before this court.
“That the said act was carried out by the Respondent in violation of the order which was valid and subsisting when they carried out those acts. That same act of the Respondent amounts to an act of contempt.
“It is against the above facts that this court hereby grants the prayers sought in line with the principle of ‘Audi Ultra Patem’ (listen to the other side).
“This matter is adjourned to May 13 for the Respondent’s Chairman to appear before this court in answer to form 49 ordered to be served on him,” the judge held.
Dissatisfied with the court summon, the EFCC Chairman, Olukoyede, took the matter before the Court of Appeal.
Specifically, he filed two motions, for the stay of execution of the summon, as well as for the processes from the appellate court to be served on the former governor, through substituted means by pasting same at his Abuja residence at No 9 Bengazi Steet Wuse Zone 4.
In its ruling, a three-member panel of Justices of the appellate court led by Justice Joseph Oyewole, granted the two motions that were moved on behalf of the EFCC Chairman by his team of lawyers led by Mr. Jubrin Okutekpa, SAN.
The appellate court held that it found merit in the two ex parte applications, even as it fixed May 20 for the substantive appeal marked: CA/ABJ/CV/413/2024, to be heard.
Other members of the appellate court panel that granted the applications, were Justices P. C. Obiora and Okon Abang.