The Court of Appeal in Abuja has nullified the contempt proceedings initiated by Yahaya Bello, the former Governor of Kogi State, against Olanipekun Olukoyede, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Bello had brought the contempt case before the Kogi State High Court in Lokoja, based on interim orders previously issued by the court.
The High Court had demanded that Olukoyede justify why he should not be held in contempt, a decision that Olukoyede subsequently appealed.
On Thursday, June 13, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal ruled that the contempt case was founded on interim orders that had already expired.
The panel noted that these interim orders were in place only until the High Court delivered its final judgment on Bello’s fundamental human rights enforcement suit.
The Court of Appeal emphasized that since the High Court had issued a final judgment on the substantive suit, without extending the interim orders, those orders were no longer valid at the time the contempt case was initiated.
In the leading judgment, Justice Joseph Oyewole highlighted that the trial judge did not extend the interim orders from February 9, 2024, in the final judgment delivered on April 17, 2024.
The court also imposed a cost of N1 million against Bello.