Ex-Gov Bello pleads not guilty to EFCC’s N80bn charge

The immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, has pleaded not guilty to the 19-count charges brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The ex-governor is facing an alleged money laundering trial involving the sum of N80 billion.

He pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

When the case was called for hearing on Friday, Counsel for the EFCC, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, notified the Federal High Court in Abuja of the Prosecution’s intention to withdraw an earlier application for abridgment of the date initially fixed for arraignment.

Pinheiro stated that the application had been overtaken by events. The Defendant’s Counsel, led by Joseph Daudu, SAN, did not object, and Justice Emeka Nwite accordingly granted the request.