Justice Maryanne Anineh of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court, Maitama, Abuja, on Thursday, July 17, 2025, struck out an application by the former Kogi State governor, Yahaya Adoza Bello, for the release of his passport to enable him travel to the United Kingdom for medical treatment. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is prosecuting Bello alongside Umar Shuaibu Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu before Justice Anineh on a 16-count charge, bordering on criminal breach of trust and money laundering to the tune of N110.4 billion. At the last sitting, Bello, through his counsel, J.B. Daudu, SAN, had made an application, dated June 19, 2025 and filed on June 20, 2025, praying for a temporary release of his passport to enable him attend a scheduled medical appointment in the United Kingdom, with an undertaking to return the passport to the court upon his return. In his response to the application, prosecution counsel, Chukwudi Enebeli, SAN, however, u...
A Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday morning discharged and acquitted former Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, of all charges in his long-standing money laundering case brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The court upheld Fayose’s no-case submission, effectively ruling that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against him to warrant further defence. Fayose had been standing trial on allegations bordering on money laundering and fraud during his tenure as governor. However, after years of legal proceedings, the court found that the evidence presented by the EFCC was insufficient to sustain the charges.