The  scheduled hearing for the appeal filed by the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Olanipekun Olukoyede, against the Kogi High Court’s order requiring him to show cause in an alleged contempt case, was stalled on Monday, May 20, before the Court of Appeal in Abuja.

The Court of Appeal had, on May 3, granted an ex-parte motion filed by the EFCC Chairman for a stay of proceedings in the alleged contempt case before the Kogi State High Court sitting in Lokoja and fixed a hearing for May 20.

When parties got to court on Monday, they were told by an official of the court that there would be no sitting.

The official said: “We are holding a workshop, where our Justices are in attendance. Therefore, there is no sitting today.

“The next adjourned date will be communicated to counsel to the parties for all cases scheduled for today.

“We are sorry for the inconvenience this might have caused.”

The court official was referring to the two-day workshop organised by the Court of Appeal to review the adjudication process during the 2023 election litigation season.

Justice I. A. Jamil of the Kogi High Court had summoned the EFCC Chairman to appear on May 13 to show why he should not be committed to prison for allegedly disobeying the court’s orders.

Justice Jamil had, in a ruling held that “the said act was carried out by the respondent (EFCC) in violation of the order, which is valid and subsisting when they carried out the act.”

The judge held that the EFCC’s act of attempting to arrest ex-Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello during the pendency of an earlier restraining order, amounted to contempt.

He said the action of EFCC officials who laid siege on Bello’s residence as early as 8 am on April 17, with a bid to arrest him despite a court order restraining the EFCC from taking such action, pending the determination of the originating motion, amounted to contempt.

Justice Jamil’s ruling was based on a motion ex-parte filed by Bello, through his lawyer, M.S. Yusuf, where he prayed to the court for an order to issue and serve the respondent (EFCC chairman) with Form 49 Notice to show why the order of committal should not be made on him.

Bello had, in his motion, complained among others, that the respondents (the EFCC and its Chairman) had engaged in some acts, in respect of which they had been restrained by the Kogi High Court on February 9, pending the hearing and determination of the fundamental rights enforcement suit he filed.

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