*Ex-Gov begs Tinubu to intervene
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Wednesday, laid siege to the Abuja residence of Yahaya Bello, the former Governor of Kogi State.
Reports say the EFCC officials barricaded the ex-governor’s residence since 9am on Wednesday.
The mission of the anti-graft operatives could not be ascertained at the time of filing this report, and no official statement had also been issued to that effect.
Sometimes last month, the EFCC indicted Yahaya Bello, in an alleged diversion of about N100 billion, an offence allegedly committed months before he assumed office as governor in September 2015.
The EFCC had joined Yahaya Bello in the amended suit alongside the Chief of Staff to Kogi State Governor, Alli Bello, and one Daudu Suleiman who was re-arraigned by the anti-graft agency before Justice James Omotoso of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
The ex-governor was not a defendant in the original suit, and was not in court on the said day.
Justice Omotoso had granted an accelerated hearing in the matter and had also ordered that all forms of objections must be kept in abeyance till the address stage and the charge were read to them.
In the first count, the former governor, and the two suspects were accused of conspiring with each other in September 2015 and converting N80, 246, 470, 089 to their personal use.
They were also alleged to have run foul of section 18 (a) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011 because they ought to have reasonably known that the money was a product of fraud and criminal breach of public trust.
In other charges, the suspects were alleged to have concealed several millions of Naira with one Rabiu Musa Tafada, a Bureau De Change (BDC) operator trading under Global Venture in Abuja.
The Kogi State Government had swiftly faulted the anti-graft agency and described as a “witch-hunt”, the charges against the immediate past governor.
Meanwhile, the media office of the former governor has condemned the operatives’ actions while urging President Bola Tinubu to caution the EFCC.
According to a statement from Bello’s media office, the presence of the operatives at his residence violates the order of injunction granted on February 9, 2024, by the High Court of Justice, Lokoja Division, in Suit No. HCL/68M/2024 between Yahaya Bello v. EFCC, restraining the commission either by itself or its agents from harassing, arresting, detaining, or prosecuting him, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive fundamental rights enforcement action.
The statement read: “The EFCC was duly served with that order on February 12, 2024, and on February 26, 2024, the EFCC filed an appeal (Appeal No.: CA/ABJ/CV/175/2024: Economic and Financial Crimes Commission v. Alhaji Yahaya Bello) against the said order to the Court of Appeal Abuja Division. The appeal was accompanied by a Motion for a Stay of Execution of the order of the High Court, which the Court of Appeal adjourned for hearing till April 22, 2024.
“Furthermore, judgment in the substantive case between Alhaji Yahaya Bello and the EFCC will be delivered at 12 noon today in Lokoja.
“Contrary to all of the above, the EFCC has now laid siege to the home of H.E Yahaya Bello, seeking to arrest him in contravention of the extant orders!
“It is a surprise that an agency led by a lawyer could flagrantly disobey a subsisting court order by taking actions contrary to the reliefs granted.
“We are aware of the total commitment of President Bola Tinubu’s current administration to the rule of law and can say categorically that the EFCC leadership might have offered the agency on a platter of gold to desperate politicians to convert it to their score-settling tool without minding the effect on its integrity and the image of Nigeria as regards the rule of law.”
Bello’s media office further alleged that the anti-graft agency was plotting to embarrass and harass him through spurious allegations, especially the latest one dating back to September 2015, long before he assumed office.
It will be recalled that the EFCC, in the 17-count amended charge, accused Yahaya Bello of money laundering, breach of trust, and misappropriation of funds to the tune of N84,062,406,089.88.
The EFCC had claimed in the amended charge that the former governor was at large.
