Yahaya Bello’s Lawyer Seeks To Abandon His Case

Adeola Adedipe, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, applied to the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday, June 27, to withdraw his appearance in court on behalf of Kogi State’s immediate former Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello.

Yahaya Bello is facing a 19-count allegation for involvement in money laundering, breach of trust, and theft of public funds totalling around N80.2 billion.

Following his absence from his scheduled arraignment, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) sought the trial judge to penalise his lawyers for failing to execute an agreement they made to assure his appearance for trial.

Mr Kemi Pinhero, SAN, the EFCC’s lead counsel, urged the court to penalise the two senior attorneys who had consistently represented the former governor, claiming that they had violated professional conduct guidelines.

Pinheiro, SAN, maintained that Order 31(3) of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners stated that any lawyer who fails to comply with an undertaking made before a court, in addition to being in contempt, is automatically guilty of misconduct.

Pinheiro said: “My lord, our application is that since one of the lawyers is present in court, he should be moved to the dock and dealt with him summarily, that is what the law says.

“We urge the court to exercise disciplinary jurisdiction over the lawyers so as to preserve the integrity of the judiciary.

“If a Chief Justice of Nigeria can be docked before an inferior tribunal, who then is an SAN or a former governor in terms of status?

“Even a former President of the United States of America was docked. These senior lawyers have been helping the defendant to treat this court with scorn.

“For five consecutive sittings, the defendant refused to make himself available for his trial and his lawyers have continued to use all forms of chicanery to frustrate his arraignment.

“If this sort of conduct is not punished, then we will be sliding to a situation that will be worse than the Animal Farm.

“The world is watching. Punishing these senior lawyers will send a very clear message,” EFCC’s lawyer added.

Adedipe, SAN, responded by telling the court that he was not Bello’s principal counsel and denied making any commitment to assure his participation at the trial.

“My lord, the narration by the prosecution counsel is very untrue and it is accentuated by malice. I am not the lead counsel in this matter.

“What the learned prosecution counsel has tried to do was to pitch my person against this court,” Adedipe, SAN, insisted.

He contended that the EFCC disrespected the court by failing to execute the warrant granted for the defendant’s arrest.

Adedipe, SAN, stated that his team had previously informed the court that they were unaware of Yahaya Bello’s whereabouts.

He stated that, given the course of the case, he had no choice but to invoke the provision of section 349(8) of the ACJA, 2015, by withdrawing his attendance as the defendant.

However, the EFCC, through its counsel, contended that the defence lawyer’s withdrawal from the case was too late.

“My lord, he should be used to set an example that this is not a lottery game. His request to withdraw is only an afterthought and it should not be countenanced by this court.

“I urge your lordship to invite him to the dock immediately,” the prosecution counsel submitted.

Trial Justice Emeka Nwite has yet to pronounce on the subject.

A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.

Nnamdi Okoli