Our correspondent saw that security personnel quickly took control of the court complex’s security from the main gate after arriving on the court grounds as early as 7:30 am in a variety of car brands.
The former governor and attorneys for the federal government were kindly advised to wait for customary security measures to be completed at the entrance of court 8, where the trial will take place.
Only individuals with business in the courtroom were allowed entry after the search was completed.
Yahaya Bello was waiting for the proceedings to begin in the courthouse at the time of this report. He was dressed in his usual white babanriga and multicolored headpiece.
The reasons behind the EFCC’s activities were not immediately clear, but news reporters consistently reported that they were a part of a coordinated effort by security authorities to prevent criminals from posing a threat to the court’s ruling.
As you may remember, on Friday, December 13, 2024, the Federal High Court in Abuja granted Bello N500 million bail with two sureties in an equivalent amount.
Since then, he has been traveling from his home for his trial.
He has entered a not guilty plea to all of the allegations in the purported N80 billion money laundering trial.
Before Justice Emeka Nwite, Joseph Daudu, SAN, is leading the defendant’s defense team, and Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, is leading the EFCC’s.
