Justice Maryann Anineh of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT ) High Court, Maitama, Abuja, on Tuesday, December 10, 2024, refused to grant bail to former Kogi State governor, Yahaya Adoza Bello on the ground that his bail application was filed prematurely and intended to preempt the court.
Bello, alongside Umar Shuaibu Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu are being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC on a 16-count charge of criminal breach of trust and money laundering to the tune of N110.4 billion.
Delivering ruling on Bello’s bail application, the judge held that the application filed on November 22, 2024, was incompetent as it predated his arrest by the EFCC on November 26 and his arraignment on November 27, clarifying that a bail application only becomes ripe for hearing after the defendant’s arraignment.
“Having been filed when the first defendant was neither in custody nor before the court, this application is premature and hereby refused,” she said.
Following the ruling, prosecution counsel Chukwudi Enedini, SAN prayed the court for a trial date. Justice Anineh adjourned the matter till January 29, February 25, and February 27, 2025, and ordered that Bello be remanded in Kuje Correctional Centre.
