The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja, on Tuesday dismissed an application filed by former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Adoza Bello, challenging the court’s jurisdiction.
The application relates to the N110.4 billion fraud case instituted against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The development was disclosed in a statement and court update published on the EFCC’s official social media platforms on Tuesday, detailing the proceedings before Justice Maryanne Anenih of the FCT High Court.
Bello is facing prosecution alongside Umar Shuaibu Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu on a 16-count charge bordering on alleged criminal breach of trust and money laundering involving N110.4 billion.
The former governor had urged the court to strike out the charge, marked FCT/CR/778/2024, arguing that the FCT High Court lacked the territorial jurisdiction to entertain the matter. He also contended that the proceedings amounted to an abuse of court process because a related case, Charge No. FHC/ABJ/CR/98/2024, is already pending before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
However, counsel to the EFCC, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), opposed the application, describing it as misconceived and intended to delay the trial. He argued that the offences contained in the charge were brought under the Penal Code and were therefore properly within the jurisdiction of the FCT High Court.
Pinheiro further maintained that the properties allegedly acquired with proceeds of the offences and forming part of the prosecution’s case are located within the Federal Capital Territory, giving the court the authority to hear the matter.
On the issue of abuse of court process, the senior advocate argued that the charges before the FCT High Court and the Federal High Court are fundamentally different. According to him, the FCT case centres on allegations of criminal breach of trust and conspiracy under the Penal Code, while the Federal High Court matter relates to alleged breaches of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act.
He told the court that the two cases differ in both legal basis and substance and therefore cannot be regarded as duplicative proceedings. Pinheiro also noted that the parties involved are not identical, stressing that Bello is the sole defendant in the Federal High Court case, whereas he is standing trial alongside two co-defendants before the FCT High Court.
In her ruling, Justice Anenih upheld the prosecution’s arguments and affirmed that the court possesses the requisite jurisdiction to hear the charge.
The judge further held that the proceedings did not constitute an abuse of court process and consequently dismissed Bello’s application for lacking merit. A similar application filed by the third defendant was also dismissed on the same grounds.
Following the ruling, the court ordered the continuation of the trial, after which the prosecution called its 16th witness, Baba Isah Usman Baffa.
Testifying under examination by prosecution counsel Chukwudi Enebeli (SAN), Baffa told the court that he was familiar with Sherrif Plaza, a commercial complex located at Plot 739 in Abuja and comprising 276 shops.
According to the witness, Ali Bello had approached his company with interest in purchasing a shop within the plaza.
“He came to our office, made enquiries about the shops and indicated interest in buying one. We gave him the prospective form and the requirements. He met the requirements, we gave him an account number and he made the payment,” Baffa told the court.
The witness stated that Ali Bello eventually purchased Shop B13 for N66 million. He explained that an initial payment of N40 million was made into the company’s First City Monument Bank (FCMB) account, while the outstanding N26 million was paid at a later date.
The trial was subsequently adjourned for further proceedings.
