The Federal High Court located in Abuja has set March 18 as the date for delivering its ruling in the trial-within-trial regarding the money laundering allegations against Ali Bello, who serves as the Chief of Staff (CoS) to Governor Usman Ododo of Kogi State, and his co-defendant, Dauda Suleiman.
Judge James Omotosho determined the date subsequent to the conclusion of final submissions from the legal representatives of both parties, who adopted their written addresses during this segment of the trial.
Prosecutors from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are bringing charges against Bello and Suleiman for their alleged involvement in the laundering of approximately N10 billion in state finances.
These accusations are linked to the defendants' operations during the tenure of former Governor Yahaya Bello.
The trial-within-trial aims to evaluate the voluntariness of the extrajudicial statements given by the defendants during the investigation.
Notably, Ali Bello, the first defendant, is related to former Governor Bello by nephew.
During the proceedings, both defendants contested the prosecution's decision to introduce eight statements as evidence, claiming they were made under duress amidst threats prior to their issuance.
In his closing remarks, Bello’s attorney, K. C. Wisdom, appealed to the court to recognize that the first defendant's extrajudicial statements were not obtained voluntarily.
Additionally, Wisdom pleaded with the court to dismiss the statements from evidence.
On the other hand, Suleiman’s counsel, Olusegun Jolaawo, SAN, requested the court to assert that the statements contravened the relevant provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015.
Conversely, the EFCC's attorney, Abdullahi Mohammed, argued for the court to accept six statements made by Bello and two from Suleiman, asserting they were provided voluntarily.
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