Yahaya Bello, the embattled former governor of Kogi state, was absent from the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was set to prosecute him, but his lawyers told the court Bello could not appear before Justice Emeka Nwite.

A. M. Adoyi led Bello’s team of lawyers. They told Nwite they filed an affidavit of record at the Supreme Court on Monday challenging the EFCC’s arrest warrant.

The antigraft agency secured an arrest warrant against Bello on April 17 and declared him wanted.

Despite several attempts to arrest and bring him before Nwite, they have failed. On April 23, Ola Olukoyede, EFCC Chairman, pledged to resign if he did not prosecute Bello.

READ ALSO: VIDEO: Gunshots Heard as EFCC Attempts to Arrest Yahaya Bello at Governor’s Lodge

On September 18, Bello accused the agency of failing to attend to him when he showed up at their headquarters, but the EFCC accused him of not following due process. Hours later, there was a shootout between the agency and security agents at the Kogi State Governor’s lodge in the Asokoro District in Abuja.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Adoyi asked the court to suspend the hearing until the apex court rules on the merits of the arrest warrant “so as not to render the appellant’s appeal null or to pull the rug out of the feet of the Supreme Court”.

Opposing this prayer, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), EFCC’s counsel, asked that Nwite recommend Adoyi to the Legal Practitioners’ Disciplinary Committee for sanctions. Pinheiro said Adoyi was helping his client to ridicule the judiciary’s integrity.

READ ALSO: JUST IN: Yahaya Bello ‘Remains Wanted’, Not With EFCC

Pinheiro also addressed Bello’s EFCC office appearance. He said, “What is worrisome is that the defendant, by his own admission, went to EFCC’s car park holding the hands of a person with immunity, who came with the full complement of all the paraphernalia and security of his office.

“The implication is that if there was an attempt to extricate him from the person with immunity, there would have been an altercation and an invitation to anarchy.”

After hearing all parties, Nwite adjourned the matter till October 30.