Olayomi Koiki
Abuja – Operatives of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Wednesday, besieged the Kogi State Government Lodge in the nation’s capital Abuja – in an attempt to arrest Yahaya Bello, a former governor of Kogi State, a north-central state, his media office said.
The Director of Yahaya Bello’s Media Office, Ohiare Michael, raised the alarm in a statement on Wednesday night, titled, “Despite voluntary visit, EFCC officials surround Kogi Government Lodge, Abuja in an attempt to forcefully arrest former governor Yahaya Bello, fire gunshots.”
The ex-governor’s media team and the anti-graft agency were engaged in a verbal dispute over the controversial visit of the ex-governor to the EFCC headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday.
In April, Bello was declared wanted for failing to honour the anti-graft agency’s multiple invitations after he was accused of money laundering to the tune of ₦80.2 billion.
It’s worth noting that Bello had previously resisted arrest and shunned multiple EFCC invitations, leading to a dramatic scene at his Abuja residence. The EFCC had obtained a warrant for his arrest, but his successor, Governor Usman Ododo, intervened to prevent the arrest.
The anti-graft agency has said it is keen to prosecute Bello, with Chairman Ola Olukoyede personally inviting him for interrogation.
However, a statement on Wednesday by Bello’s media team said the ex-governor finally surrendered himself and visited the EFCC headquarters months after being declared wanted by the anti-graft agency over an alleged ₦80.2bn fraud.
Local news outlets reported that Bello finally honoured the EFCC’s invitation, accompanied by top politicians and bigwigs of the ruling party All Progressives Congress (APC).
Sources said that Bello’s appearance at the EFCC was the result of a negotiation between his camp and President Bola Tinubu’s camp.
Michael claimed that Bello went to the EFCC headquarters voluntarily to clear his name, but the anti-graft agency refused to attend to him.
But the spokesman for the EFCC, in a statement, insisted that Bello was not in the custody of the anti-graft agency, adding that Bello remained wanted.
On Wednesday night, Bello’s media office raised the alarm about attempt by EFCC operatives to arrest Bello at the Kogi Government Lodge in Abuja.
Michael said: “It has come to our notice that people suspected to be operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission are currently around the Kogi Government Lodge, Asokoro in an attempt to forcefully arrest former Governor Yahaya Bello. They were shooting sporadically.
“It was reported earlier that the former Governor went to the EFCC office voluntarily earlier today but the commission told him to leave and come at a later date, only to mount a Gestapo-like attack on the Kogi State Government facility in Asokoro.
“We want to place it on record that the EFCC should be held accountable if anything untoward happens to him.
“Tonight’s attack was needless as the former governor made himself available to the EFCC in their office for interrogation. The EFCC had no question to ask Alhaji Yahaya Bello in the morning, but suddenly, they are out to arrest him.
“This action is condemnable. They have displayed the very reason many Nigerians believe they were fighting political battles instead of the mandate to fight corruption. This action reflects much more than the fight against corruption.”
In August, the Court of Appeal in Abuja ordered Bello to present himself for arraignment.
The court had also restrained Bello from taking further action in the case until his arraignment.
Additionally, the court set aside the judgment previously delivered by Kogi State High Court.
The EFCC is prosecuting Bello for alleged criminal diversion and money laundering to the tune of ₦80,246,470,088.88 while he was in office as Kogi State Governor.
The anti-corruption agency filed 19 criminal counts before a Federal High Court in Abuja against the former governor, bordering on criminal breach of trust and money laundering.
The charge filed at the Federal High Court 9, with charge FHC/ABJ/CR/98/2024, dated March 9, 2024, has Yahaya Adoza Bello as the sole Defendant while the Federal Republic of Nigeria is the complainant.
The EFCC in the charge papers accused the ex-governor of converting ₦80,246,470,089.88 belonging to the Kogi State government in February 2016 to himself, an offence which is contrary to Section 18(a) and punishable under Section 15(3) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 as amended.
Bello was also accused of indirectly using one Ali Bello, Dauda Suleiman and Abdulsalam Hudu to launder the sum of N950 million being proceeds of crime for the acquisition of a property at No. 35 Danube Street, MaitamaDistrict, Abuja.
Bello’s whereabouts had been officially unknown since the EFCC attempted to arrest him during a raid on his Abuja residence. The current Kogi State Governor Usman Ododo had scuttled attempts by EFCC’s operatives to arrest Bello from his residence in Abuja.