The Kogi State High Court’s judgment prohibiting the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from detaining former governor Yahaya Bello has been met by a notice of withdrawal, which the EFCC has filed to end its appeal.
The Commission stated in the notice dated Monday, April 22, 2024, and signed by its attorney, J.S. Okutepa (SAN), that the withdrawal was due to the fact that the appeal had been superseded by events.
The appeal was lodged after the legally permitted period, the commission also acknowledged.
“In the aforementioned appeal, the appellant wishes to and does thus completely withdraw her appeal against the respondent.
“This notice of withdrawal is based on the fact that the decision of the same Kogi state High Court took precedence over the application filed by the appellant here on April 17, 2024.”
“Jamal made ex-parte orders on February 9, 2024, in the litigation that is the subject of this appeal. These orders were meant to be temporary while the original motion was heard and decided upon, which was ultimately decided by Jamil J. on April 17, 2024.
In addition, he said, “We pray that the appeal be struck out for being filed out of time and incompetent because the notice of appeal was filed out of time.”
Bello filed a fundamental rights enforcement lawsuit on February 8th, requesting that the court rule that the EFCC’s “without any formal invitation” “incessant harassment, threats of arrest and detention, negative press releases, malicious prosecution” are politically motivated and interfere with Bello’s right to liberty, freedom of movement, and a fair trial.
A directive “restraining the respondent by themselves, their agents, servants or privies from continuing to harass, threaten to arrest or detain him” was another request made by the previous governor.
In order to prevent the EFCC from “continuing to harass, threaten to arrest, detain, prosecute Bello, his former appointees, and his staff or family members, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive originating motion for the enforcement of his fundamental rights,” the Kogi high court granted an interim injunction on February 9.
The EFCC appealed the temporary order on March 12th, citing the court’s inability to prevent the agency from carrying out its mandate.
On April 17, the Kogi court rendered a decision on the substantive application on notice. The sitting judge, Isa Jamil Abdullahi, issued an order prohibiting the EFCC from “continually harassing, threatening to arrest or detain Bello.”
But Abdullahi gave the panel instructions to charge Bello in front of the relevant court if it felt compelled to do so.
The ruling was made concurrently with the EFCC agents’ recent “siege” of Bello’s home in Abuja, which was intended to result in his arrest.