The planned arraignment of the former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, on alleged N82 billion fraud, took a strange turn on Wednesday, July 17, when two senior advocates engaged in a heated argument during the proceedings.
The two lawyers, Abdulwahab Mohammed (SAN), standing for Bello, and Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), standing for the Federal Government.
Trouble started when Mohammed announced his appearance for the former governor and left out his colleague, Adeola Adedipe (SAN).
However, the FG counsel opposed the exclusion, saying that Adedipe should be included in the proceedings until discharged by the court.
Adedipe interrupted Pinheiro’s argument, insisting that he was not prepared to be part of the proceedings.
At this stage, Mohammed interjected and announced that Adedipe had filed a notice of withdrawal from the proceedings.
As Justice Emeka Nwite was about to deliver a ruling on the contentious appearance matter, Bello’s lawyer stood up and requested to be allowed to stay outside the proceedings if the court proceeded with the ruling.
Fuming with anger, Mohammed openly called Pinheiro a rough lawyer who takes delight in misleading the court.
His attempt to make further abusive remarks about the Pinheiro was aborted, but Mohammed refused to apologize, insisting that he would leave the court should the judge go ahead with the ruling.
When tempers rose beyond control, Justice Nwite, out of anger, abruptly brought the proceedings to an end by walking straight into his chamber.
At the time of this report, tension was still high in the courtroom.
