The federal high court in Abuja declined the request of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to arraign Yahaya Bello despite the absence of his lawyers.
The anti-graft agency brought Bello, former governor of Kogi, to court on Friday over an alleged N80 billion fraud.
However, when the case was called, Emeka Nwite, the trial judge, asked Bello why his lawyers were not in court.
The ex-governor said he was only informed of the sitting late Thursday night and could not contact his lawyers to come with him.
On Wednesday, the EFCC arraigned Bello at the federal capital territory (FCT) high court, on a 16-count charge bordering on alleged money laundering to the tune of N110 billion.
More to follow…
