Former Kogi state Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello has been faulted for “trying to evade justice” following the failed attempt by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to arrest the former governor over N80bn fraud allegation.
Ex-Gov. Bello who has been the subject of public criticism, has been asked by a Northern women’s advocacy group to “man up and take responsibility for his alleged misdeeds while in government.
The group is worried about the obvious attempts to toil with EFCC’s prosecution of Yahaya Bello on 19-count charges bordering on money laundering to the tune of N80 billion as it has been overshadowed by drama and resistance to arrest.
In a press statement jointly signed by the president and secretary, Northern women advocacy group, Razaq Olokoba and Awakulu Galadima respectively, the group called on embattled Bello to take responsibility and avail himself for prosecution, while cautioning citizens and that may have been bought over to support Bello’s antics to desist from being part of attempts to destroy institutions that check the excesses of leaders.
The group while describing the back and forth between EFCC and Yahaya Bello as a “dance of shame”, maintained that it was avoidable if the former Kogi governor co-operated and respectfully honour the invitation extended to him by the anti-graft agency.
Part of the statement reads: “We are not in a lawless country, we are certainly not in a banana republic, so we condemn all that transpired in the botched arrest of former Governor Bello. But we believe all the drama by Bello was avoidable.
“It is simply irresponsible of the former governor not to man up and face the charges before him, it doesn’t tell good of him. Leaders must know that they have a responsibility to give account of their stewardship someday.
“So, we reiterate that former Governor Yahaya Bello should stop all the shenanigans, antics, schemings, and meandering immediately and focus on facing justice and proving himself innocent of the fraud allegations.
“We stand for the rule of law and will promptly call EFCC and indeed any other agency to order when there is an indication of any transgression of the fundamental rights of any Nigerian by any of the agencies but I also tenaciously hold the view that institutions of State should be allowed to function effectively and efficiently..
“We urge the current Kogi Governor, Usman Ododo to stay away from any act that will obstruct justice as he has been accused of before now and therefore encourage Yahaya Bello and anyone who has been invited by the EFCC or any other agency to immediately honour such invitation instead of embarking on temporizing self-help and escapism.
“We must all support EFCC to succeed in ridding Nigeria of corruption, our anti-graft institution must not go down on the altar of personal and selfish gains of few individuals as no country in the world can develop without fighting public sector corruption and holding past and present public office holders to account.”
Recall that the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), had criticized current Kogi Governor Usman Ododo for shielding the former governor from arrest
The AGF earlier in the week said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) should not be obstructed from carrying out its lawful duties.
“A situation where public officials who are themselves subject of protection by law enforcement agents will set up a stratagem of obstruction to the civil and commendable efforts of the EFCC to perform its duty is, to say the least, insufferably disquieting,” Fagbemi said in the statement he signed.
Speaking on Bello’s apparent refusal to honour the invitation of the anti-graft agency, the Chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, cleared insinuations surrounding the impending trial of the former Kogi State governor, saying he personally spoke to the ex-governor and assured him requisite courtesies would be extended to him.
The EFCC chairman explained that the commission had not broken any law in seeking to prosecute Bello. He said the judgment of the Kogi State High Court only provided it with the lead to file the case at the Federal High Court.
He said Nigerians must come together to fight the scourge of corruption, and added that the commission gave the former governor a long rope in its investigations.
Olukoyede stated, “As the chairman, I called the former governor and gave him all due respect, including allowing him to be interrogated in my office, but the man declined.
“If I fail to investigate and prosecute Yahaya Bello, I would not have the moral right to prosecute others, including the former governor of Anambra State, Mr. Willie Obiano, and the former governor of Kwara State, Abdulfatah Ahmed.
“The commission is monitoring all those involved in one way or the other in the Yahaya Bello saga. We are watching them and we will prosecute all of them at the right time. If they have immunity today, they will not have immunity tomorrow.”
The EFCC chief also vowed to prosecute Bello or resign, alleging that the embattled ex-governor withdrew $720,000 from the state’s accounts to pay his child’s school fees in advance just before he left office on January 27, 2024.
The anti-graft commission has since declared Bello wanted after his successor, Governor Usman Ododo allegedly whisked him away on April 17, 2024, preventing EFCC operatives from arresting him (Bello) when they laid siege to his Abuja residence.
