The Court of Appeal has granted an ex-parte motion for a stay of proceedings filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against the contempt charges initiated by former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello against EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede.
Presided over by Hon. Justice Joseph O.K. Oyewole, the Court of Appeal approved the EFCC’s request to serve the appeal processes to the former Governor via substituted means.
Consequently, the court adjourned the hearing of the motion on notice to May 20, 2024. The EFCC Chairman, summoned to appear before the Kogi State High Court on May 13, 2024, to explain why he should not face imprisonment for defying court orders, appealed the ruling of the trial court and sought a stay of the proceedings.
The EFCC Chairman is accused of contempt for engaging in actions restrained by the court on February 9, 2024, pending the resolution of the substantive Originating Motion. Justice I. A. Jamil, in a ruling on Suit No: HCL/68M/2024 and Motion No: HCL/190M/2024, deemed the EFCC’s actions as contemptuous.
Despite a court order restraining them from taking action, EFCC operatives attempted to arrest former Governor Yahaya Bello on April 17, 2024. Justice Jamil’s decision stemmed from a motion ex-parte filed by Yahaya Bello through his lawyer, M.S. Yusuf, Esq., requesting the court to serve the EFCC Chairman with Form 49 Notice to explain why an Order of committal should not be issued against Olukoyede.
