A three-man panel of the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, on Wednesday, August 6, 2025, restored the preservation order on 14 properties and the sum of N400m linked to Yahaya Bello, a former governor of Kogi State.
A preservation order is a court-issued directive that safeguards the subject matter of a lawsuit, ensuring it remains intact and unaffected by external factors while the case is being litigated.
This type of order is typically granted when there’s a risk that one party might dispose of or tamper with the property in question, thereby undermining the litigation process.
By restoring the preservation order, the Appeal court is effectively upholding the lower court’s initial decision to protect the properties and maintain the status quo until the case is resolved.
This move ensures that the integrity of the litigation process is preserved and that no party can unilaterally alter the situation to their advantage.
Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos had, on February 22, 2023, in a suit filed by the Lagos Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, ordered the preservation of the properties, including “Hotel Apartment Community, Burj Khalifa lying, being and situated at, Plot 160 Municipality NO 345-7562, Sky View Building No 1, Property No 401, Floor 4, Dubai U.A.E.”, as well as the fund reasonably suspected to have been derived from unlawful activities.
The order was made pursuant to Sections 9 and 10 of the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act, 2022.
The EFCC is prosecuting Bello on a 19-count charge, bordering on criminal breach of trust and money laundering to the tune of N80.2 billion.
The charges are in violation of Section 18(a) and are punishable under Section 15(3) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended).
Some of the charges read, “That you Yahaya Adoza Bello, Umar Shuaibu Oricha And Abdulsalami Hudu sometime 2022, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, whilst having dominion over the state’s treasury, dishonestly used the total sum of Five Million, Six Hundred and Ninety Eight Thousand, Eight Hundred and Eighty Eight Dirhams for the acquisition of a property located at Hotel Apartment Community: Burj Khalifa, lying, being and situate at Plot 160, Municipality NO 345-7562, Sky View Building No.401, Floor4, Dubai U.A.E”.
“That Yahaya Adoza Bello sometime between 2017 and 2018, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, had under your control the total sum of N677, 848,000 (Six Hundred and Seventy Seven Million, Eight Hundred and Forty Eight Thousand Naira) unlawfully obtained from BESPOQUE BUSINESS SOLUTION LIMITED”.
The EFCC first declared Bello wanted in April last year after failed attempts to secure his arrest.
In September, he appeared at the EFCC’s Abuja office in the company of Governor Ododo but left without being detained.
Bello’s counsel had earlier informed the court that his client’s whereabouts were unknown, citing safety concerns.
The commission intensified its efforts following an August 20 ruling by the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which ordered Bello to present himself for arraignment.
The EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede alleged that Bello had withdrawn $720,000 from state coffers to prepay his child’s school fees abroad.
