The immediate past governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, and two others, on Wednesday, pleaded not guilty to the 16-count charges brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Bello, who is the 1st defendant, vehemently denied the allegations before Justice Maryann Anenih as they were read out by the court registrar.
After taking their plea, the defendant’s counsel, JB Daudu, SAN, moved an application for bail.
But the EFCC counsel, Kemi Pinheiro SAN, opposed the application, saying it had expired in October.
Making clarifications, the defendant’s counsel explained that the only relevant application before the court was the motion for bail in respect of the first defendant, which was filed on November 22.
Relying on all the paragraphs of the affidavit, he added that the bail application was also supported with a written address