By Abigail Philip David
Former Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, has been ordered to appear before the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja on charges of criminal breach of trust and possession of illegally acquired property.
The summons, issued by Justice Maryann E. Anenih, alleges that Bello committed these offences between 2016 and 2023. Dated October 3, 2024, the summons was made public on Friday through a post on the X (formerly Twitter) account of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
According to court documents, Bello is accused of violating Section 311 of the Penal Code Law, Cap. 89 Laws of Northern Nigeria 1963, relating to criminal breach of trust, punishable under Section 312. Additionally, he faces charges under Section 319A for possessing property suspected to have been unlawfully obtained.
The court order states: “A complaint has been made on behalf of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that you, Yahaya Adoza Bello, sometime between 2016 and 2023, committed offences including criminal breach of trust and possession of property reasonably suspected to have been unlawfully acquired.”
Bello is required to appear before the court on November 14, 2024, at 9 a.m.
The EFCC had previously declared Bello wanted and recently filed fresh charges accusing him of fraud amounting to N110 billion. Initially, 19 charges related to money laundering offenses totaling N80.2 billion were filed against Bello, his nephew Ali Bello, Dauda Suliman, and Abdulsalam Hudu. However, the new charges, filed on September 25, raised the total to N110.4 billion.
In September, Bello made a visit to the EFCC’s headquarters in Abuja alongside Kogi State’s current governor, Usman Ododo, but was not questioned. The EFCC later referred to the visit as a strategic move.
EFCC spokesperson Wilson Uwujaren, in an interview with Arise TV, suggested Bello’s visit was more of a stunt than a genuine commitment to abide by the law. An earlier attempt by the EFCC to arrest Bello in September had also failed.
