A federal high court in Abuja has reported two senior
advocates of Nigeria — Abdulwahab Mohammed and Adeola Adedipe — to the Legal
Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) for investigation and necessary
sanctions over alleged professional misconduct.
Mohammed and Adedipe are representing Yahaya Bello, former
governor of Kogi, in the criminal charge brought against him by the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Delivering a ruling during the proceedings on Wednesday,
Emeka Nwite, presiding judge, held that the senior lawyers had disrespected the
court by failing to produce their client as promised.
However, the judge said he would consider any application
they may file for a variation of the ruling.
Adedipe had also drawn the court’s attention to an
application he filed seeking to withdraw his appearance for the defendant.
Nwite granted the application.
The EFCC is seeking to prosecute Bello on 19 counts
bordering on alleged money laundering, breach of trust and misappropriation of
funds to the tune of N80.2 billion.
However, the former governor has failed to appear in court
on every adjourned date.
Bello, who handpicked Ahmed Ododo as his successor, has been
enjoying protection from the security agents attached to the state since the
botched attempt by the EFCC to arrest him.
EFCC has issued a Red Notice
on Bello to the international police organisation, also known as Interpol,
based on the warrant of arrest issued by a federal high court in Abuja.
A Red Notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to
locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition or surrender.
It means Bello can now be arrested in any country he visits
— except Micronesia, North Korea, Palau and Tuvalu, which are not members of
Interpol.
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