Crime

EFCC Counsels Pick New Date, Said ‘Today Not Convenient’ – Yahaya Bello’s Counsels

Published

4 months ago

June 13, 2024

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EFCC Counsels Pick New Date, Said ‘Today Not Convenient’ – Yahaya Bello‘s Counsels

Court adjourns to June 27 for arraignment

The Federal High Court, in Abuja, on Thursday, adjourned arraignment of the former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, on an alleged money laundering case instituted against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, to June 27, following an agreement by the counsels of the two parties.

A new date, June 27, had earlier been reportedly fixed for arraignment at the instance of the EFCC counsels.

There was, however, a mild drama in court when Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, announced appearance for EFCC and claimed ignorance of the agreement.

At the resumed hearing on Thursday, Counsel to Governor Bello, Adeola Adedipe, SAN, told the court that the EFCC lawyers approached AbdulWahab Mohammed SAN, who is the counsel for the defendant, that the June 13 date would not be convenient for them to proceed and that Wahab had to agree by way of convenience for another date to be set.

Adedipe SAN, who was in court for another matter, was surprised when he heard that Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, was in court for the Yahaya Bello/EFCC case.

“They (EFCC) agreed that junior counsels would be sent to court today to formally pick a date. And the registry can confirm this,” Adedipe said.

“Kemi Pinhero SAN has been calling us to say today is not convenient,” he added. Kemi Pinhero is the lead counsel.

But for the decision of the EFCC to seek an adjournment to a future date for his arraignment, Governor Yahaya Bello, was said to be ready to appear in court today.

“Under 266 ACJA there are instances when defendants don’t need to come and this is one of them. We came here to pick a date. Of what use will the defendant coming here be? It is the prosecuting counsel that approached us, we did not approach them. We have nothing to hide,” Adedipe noted.

In a strange twist, however, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, said he was not aware of any meeting that happened outside the court, that he did not know about the understanding to adjourn till 27th.

Justice Nwite thereafter adjourned the case to June 27 after an undertaking by Adedipe SAN that the defendant would appear on that day.

Nwite said, ordinarily, an agreement outside the court that a new date should be picked should not be enough to ignore the previous undertaking.

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JUST IN: Minister Adebayo Adelabu WhatsApp Number Hacked [DETAILS]

Published

3 hours ago

October 4, 2024

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•Minister Of Power, Adebayo Adelabu WhatsApp Number has been Hacked.

THECLOUDNGR The WhatsApp number of Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has reportedly been hacked, prompting a warning from his spokesperson, Bolaji Tunji.

The announcement was made in a brief notice sent to the Daily Post by Tunji on Thursday night.

Tunji urged Nigerians to ignore any requests for money or financial assistance originating from the compromised phone number, stating, “HM of power number has been hacked on WhatsApp. Kindly disregard any appeal for money or any assistance for financial support through the number 08022901928.”

This incident follows closely on the heels of similar security breaches involving other government officials.

Just six days prior, the WhatsApp number of the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, was hacked, and earlier, the same fate befell the Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Enoh.

TCN recalls that the WhatsApp number of the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Umo Eno, in August was also hacked by fraudsters, leading to an attempt to defraud several of his contacts.

The incident came to light when some individuals on the governor’s contact list received messages from his WhatsApp number, requesting that money be sent to a specified account with a promise of a refund later.

In a related incident, Osun State Government, in July issued a public alert on the security breach of Governor Ademola Adeleke‘s official telephone number.

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Bobrisky: Why I Didn’t File Suit Against VeryDarkMan – Falana

Published

6 hours ago

October 4, 2024

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Bobrisky: Why I Didn’t File Suit Against VeryDarkMan – Falana—-Prominent human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has revealed that he is resisting the urge to file criminal charges against a blogger, Martins Otse, who is better known as VeryDarkMan.

The blogger had recently published an audio clip accusing Falana of helping cross-dresser Idris Okuneye, popularly known as Bobrisky, secure a pardon.

Falana clarified that he has no connection with Bobrisky.

Speaking for the first time since the audio surfaced, Falana addressed the situation, stating that VeryDarkMan released a recording of a supposed conversation between Bobrisky and an unidentified person. In the clip, Bobrisky allegedly claimed to have bribed officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with ₦15 million to drop a money laundering case against him.

The recording also suggested that Bobrisky reached out to Falana’s son, Folarin (Falz), seeking his father’s influence to obtain a presidential pardon, with a demand for ₦10 million.

The House of Representatives is currently investigating the allegations, and the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has established an independent panel to look into the accusations against officers of the Nigerian Correctional Service.

Appearing on Channels TV’s Politics Today, Falana criticized the audio, stating that he would have pursued legal action if not for his ongoing advocacy for the decriminalization of free speech.

Falana remarked, “Bobrisky never spoke to me. I’ve never met him. I don’t know him from Adam. He was alleged to have spoken to my son, Folarin (Falz).” He continued by explaining that his son did receive a call from Bobrisky on May 4, requesting financial assistance to secure a placement in a VIP section of the prison. Falz, however, refused to engage, asking Bobrisky to only make requests through official prison channels.

Falana added, “We are going to examine the call logs… My son has never negotiated fees on behalf of anyone.”

The senior lawyer emphasized that although he had the opportunity to file a criminal case, he chose not to, given his role in a broader campaign across West Africa aimed at decriminalizing freedom of expression.

“This campaign is being coordinated by the Media Foundation for West Africa, where I’m a board member… We have succeeded in getting Liberia, Ghana, and Sierra Leone to decriminalize free expression. We are appealing to other countries to follow suit.”

He cautioned, however, that freedom of expression does not justify defamation or blackmail, and expressed his intent to take civil action if an acceptable apology is not offered.

Falana concluded, “We have asked for a retraction and an apology… If we don’t receive them, we will initiate civil proceedings in the High Court.”

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