Justice Joseph Oyewole of the Court of Appeal in Abuja has granted an ex-parte motion for a stay of proceedings filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against the contempt proceedings commenced by the former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello.
The Court of Appeal also granted EFCC prayers to serve the processes in the appeal by substituted means on the former governor.
With Oyewole were Justices P. C. Obiora and Okon Abang.
The EFCC boss had been summoned by Justice Isa Abdullahi Jamil of the Kogi State High Court to appear on May 13, 2024 to show cause why he should not be committed to prison for disobeying the orders of the court.
The EFCC, however, appealed the ruling of the trial court and sought a stay of the proceeding of the court.
The EFCC boss is accused of carrying out “some acts upon which they (the EFCC) have been restrained” by the Court on February 9, 2024, pending the determination of the substantive Originating Motion.
But the Court of Appeal yesterday gave the orders for the stay of contempt proceedings after hearing Chief J.S.Okutepa (SAN) leading Eko Ejembi Eko (SAN), Abdulkareem Musa and David Ojogbane Akogu.
The court ordered for substituted service of all the processes in the case to be pasted at No 9 Bengazi Steet Wuse Zone 4 Abuja being the last known address of Yahaya Bello.
In granting the orders, the Appeal Court held that the motion ex-parte had merit and adjourned the hearing of the Motion on Notice to May 20, 2024.
The first Motion, which was moved by Okutepa sought an ex parte order staying the execution of the Orders made Ex-parte in Motion No. HCL/190M/2024 on the 25th day of April 2024, in the case of Alhaji Yahaya Bello vs. EFCC.
The second motion was for an order to serve the respondent Yahaya Bello all the processes in the appeal by substituted means through the mode stated on the face of the motion.
Ruling in Suit No: HCL/68M/2024 and Motion No: HCL/190M/2024, Justice I. A. Jamil had ordered that “the said act was carried out by the Respondent (EFCC) in violation of the order, which was valid and subsisting when it carried out the act.
The court said the EFCC action amounted to contempt of the court.
EFCC operatives had laid siege to the residence of the former Governor on April 17, 2024 to arrest him, despite a court order restraining them from taking such action, pending the determination of the Originating Motion.
Justice Jamil’s order was based on a motion ex-parte filed by Yahaya Bello through his lawyer, M.S. Yusuf in which he prayed the court for an order to issue and serve the Respondent (EFCC Chairman) with Form 49 Notice to show cause why Order of committal should not be made on Olukoyede.
Meanwhile, the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre) has dragged Justice Jamil to the National Judicial Council (NJC) for issuing the order of contempt against the EFCC chairman.
Although HEDA dated its petition April 29th, 2024, it was acknowledged by the Office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria on May 2nd, 2024.
The Chief Justice of Nigeria is also the chairman of the National Judicial Council (NJC).
The NGO, in the petition, accused Jamil for granting an order which sought to enforce “a non-existence and sundry misconduct.”
It described the action of the judge as gross abuse of his judicial powers “in a suit that not only the Kogi State High Court has become functus officio but the order sought to be enforced is non-existence at the time the ‘order to show cause’ was made.”
It added: “”We are of the view that the order to show cause granted as per Motion HCL/190M/2024 are designed to annoy, irritate, and portray the commission in bad light.
“The order to show cause was granted in a very disturbing and unnecessary circumstance. The order was granted by his Lordship in the above suit on the 25th day of April, 2024 in very questionable circumstances.
“The SUIT NO: HCL/68M/2023 BETWEEN ALHAJI YAHAYA BELLO v. ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL CRIMES COMMISSION was filed on the 8th day of February, 2024 by Alhaji Yahaya Bello (“The Applicant”) for the enforcement of his fundamental rights seeking certain declaratory orders against the Commission.
“The crux/ objective of his claim as constituted in the originating motion was for the court’s enforcement of his fundamental rights particularly by restraining the commission from inviting, detaining, arresting and/or prosecuting the Applicant. The Originating Motion is herein attached and marked as “Exhibit HEDA 1.”
The litigation is a fallout of the N80 billion money laundering case against Bello by EFCC.
