![The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate. [PHOTO CREDIT: Official X handle of Mr Pate | via https://x.com/muhammadpate/status/1812790729107816486/photo/1]](https://i0.wp.com/media.premiumtimesng.com/wp-content/files/2024/10/Muhammad-Ali-Pate.jpeg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1)
![Former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello [PHOTO CREDIT: Alhaji Yahaya Bello]](https://i0.wp.com/media.premiumtimesng.com/wp-content/files/2024/02/408120362_905290814276680_6076651021365286803_n-e1707257395206.jpg?fit=938%2C677&ssl=1)
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday laid siege to the Federal High Court in Abuja during the trial of former Governor of Kogi State Yahaya Bello, on alleged fraud charges.
The EFCC operatives were aided by police officers and operatives of the State Security Service (SSS) at the ongoing trial of Mr Bello who faces N80.2 billion money laundering charges.
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The security operatives, wielding arms, blocked one of the major roads leading to the court complex with a vehicle.
Some of the operatives also held security dogs, and other weapons while mounting the perimeter of the court, particularly the court’s entrance.
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PREMIUM TIMES observed how uncomfortable some lawyers and litigants felt within the courtroom concerning the siege.
Lawyers and litigants seeking to enter the court to transact various businesses were also being thoroughly frisked before being allowed in or turned back at the court gate.
Some lawyers complained that though they had no business with Mr Bello’s case, they were being subjected to unfair treatment.
The situation at the gate became rowdy, with lawyers shouting and protesting against the restrictions placed on them despite having different matters before different judges.
Mr Bello pleaded not guilty to all the money laundering charges.
The defendant is being led by Joseph Daudu a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, while the EFCC legal team is headed by Kemi Pinheiro also a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, before judge Emeka Nwite.
The Federal High Court, Abuja, had on Friday, 13 December 2024, granted Bello bail in the sum of N500 million with two sureties in like sum.
This was after the former governor pleaded not guilty to the 19-count charges brought against him by the EFCC.
Sowore blasts EFCC, DSS, police over siege on court
Meanwhile, Omoyele Sowore, human rights activist and former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) has condemned the siege laid to the court by the security operatives.
While entering the court on Monday, Mr Sowore confronted police, SSS, and EFCC officers for preventing him from entering the premises of the Federal High Court.
READ ALSO: EFCC returns recovered $130,000, N70m, other assets to foreign fraud victims
Mr Sowore told the officers that he was not former Kogi State governor Yahaya Bello, who has an ongoing case with the commission over alleged financial misappropriation.
The former presidential candidate, who is also a human rights activist, resisted every officer’s attempt to obstruct him.
In a video posted on his X handle, Sowore claimed that Nigeria’s justice system had been hijacked by uniformed security agents, including the Department of State Security Services, police, and civil defence.
“Why are you shouting at me? Do I look like Yahaya Bello? I have business in court. I don’t need to be cleared by either the police or EFCC because none of you is an officer of the court,” Mr Sowore told some security operatives.
Speaking further while walking into the court, he said, “This is a Federal High Court; bring a court official, and I will talk to them. EFCC brought me to court, and they are still harassing us. You have no right to stand in front of the high court. You are not my lawyer and have no right to know my case.”
