Yahaya Bello, the former governor of Kogi State, has been served with a public summons by a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Maitama, ordering him to appear in court on October 24, 2024, for his arraignment.
Along with two co-defendants, Umar Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu, Bello will be arraigned in relation to 16 fresh charges that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has brought against them.
The former governor had previously been declared wanted after an arrest warrant was issued against him on April 17 by Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Bello is already facing 19 charges related to money laundering and misappropriation of N80.2 billion before Justice Nwite’s court but has failed to appear for his arraignment on five separate occasions.
Justice Maryanne Anenih, before whom the new charges have been filed, ruled on Thursday that Bello must present himself before the court to defend the latest allegations of criminal breach of trust involving N110.4 billion.
The summons follows an application by the EFCC, which stated that it had been unable to serve Bello with fresh new charges filed on September 24.
The EFCC claimed that Bello and his co-defendants misappropriated funds entrusted to them.
In her ruling, Justice Anenih directed the EFCC to publish the public summons in a widely circulated newspaper and to paste copies of the summons at Bello’s last known address and in visible locations within the court premises.
Bello was scheduled to appear in court on Thursday to be arraigned on the new accusations, but the proceedings were again delayed by his absence.
The EFCC continues to pursue the case, which remains one of the most high-profile fraud allegations against a former governor in recent times.
