Yahaya Bello, the former Kogi Governor on trial in the N80 billion money laundering case, took over crowd control when he was arraigned on Wednesday.
According to reports, Justice Maryann Anenih, who was ruffled by an uproar in the courtroom, staged a walk-out after taking the not-guilty plea of Bello and his co-defendants.
Anenih disclosed that he would return when sanity had been restored in the courtroom, prompting Bello to calm the crowd.
The former governor directed his followers and sympathisers to vacate their seats and leave the courtroom.
The intervention led to calm being restored as the tension was doused when the followers did as instructed and left the courtroom.
To ensure that disorderliness did not return, Bello took a seat at the entrance of the courtroom to prevent his followers from disobeying the court order.
Alongside his nephews, Ali Bello, Dauda Suliman, and Abdulsalam Hudu, he is facing a 19-count charge for allegedly laundering over N80 billion.