- By Halimah Olamide
Amidst the ongoing persecution of by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Media Office of Ex-Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, has alleged that the N80 billion looting accusation against him is a desperate political witch hunt.
This was contained in a statament made available to NPO Reports on Wednesday.
The EFCC alleged that the former Governor converted over N80bn Kogi State funds to personal use in September 2015, which was before he became governor.
However, the commission has now modified the date of the alleged offences to be February 2016, which is Mr Bello’s first month in office as governor, instead of September 2015 that was stated in the old charge.
In the new case, the EFCC accused Mr Bello, his nephew, Ali Bello; Dauda Suleiman and Abdulsalam Hudu (said to still be at large) of conspiring to convert the total sum of N80 billion (N80, 246,470, 088.88) in February 2016.
EFCC alleged in the count that Mr Bello and others “reasonably ought to have known” that the money “forms part of the proceeds of your unlawful activity” – criminal breach of trust.
EFCC also alleged in another count that Mr Bello, between 26 July 2021 to 6 April 2022 in Abuja aided a firm, E-Traders International Limited, to conceal the aggregate sum of over N3 billion (N3,081,804,654) in account number 1451458080 domiciled in Access Bank Plc.
Reacting to this, the statement read in part,
“Masterminds of this unending persecution have hurriedly repackaged their script, this time dragging the name of the EFCC further in the mud.
“In a miscalculated bid to satisfy their paymasters at all costs, some desperate politicians have pushed the EFCC to approach another Federal High Court in Abuja, with the same set of questionable allegations without waiting for the determination of the two preceeding cases they’ve filed in two different Courts simultaneously.
“In this particular one, they tried to correct their initial blunder by saying the about N80 billion was now stolen in February 2016, arguably in less than three weeks after he assumed office for the first time as Governor of Kogi State on January 27, 2016!
“Looking at the curious and endless scenarios of duplicated charges, cross-charges, counter and frivolous charges by the EFCC against former Governor Yahaya Bello, it has become crystal clear that the whole onslaught is nothing but a desperate political witch-hunt of the immediate past Governor of Kogi State.”
The statement also read;
“We want to draw attention of the President to the abuse of the Court Processes and prosecutorial powers by the EFCC is assuming a dangerous dimension that the Head of the Commission might not even have paid attention to. We still want to assume that he is being misled into political persecution rather than diligent prosecution by bad eggs within the system, working with criminals masquerading as politicians.
“The desperation to nail a man that has done nothing but to raise the bar of governance in his State and provide visible dividends of democracy to all, irrespective of religious or ethnic leaning, has beclouded the rational thinking of masterminds and pushed them into a consistent pattern of raising extremely frivolous and indefensible allegations against their target.”
“Nigerians should also be aware that the political connection in all of these shenanigans and comedy of the absurd has been exposed by the composition of the legal team of the EFCC in their purported fresh case. Number two on the list of the EFCC lawyers is J.S. Okutepa, SAN. This EFCC lawyer is also the lead Counsel and kinsman to the candidate of the Social Democratic Party at the Tribunal.
“The same Mr. Okutepa worked publicly against the APC in 2015, 2019, 2023 and even campaigned openly for the Labour Party in the Presidential election. What else would that kind of character, who has lost virtually all cases he handled against Yahaya Bello and the APC, bring to the table other than deliberate strategies to bring a man and a Party he detests so much at state and national levels into disrepute by influencing the EFCC to engage in flagrant disobedience of Court orders and abuse of court processes?
“The same Okutepa SAN is EFCC’s Lawyer in the civil suit filed against the EFCC by H. E Yahaya Bello and is aware of the interim order of the Court issued against his Client restraining it from arresting, inviting and prosecuting him pending the determination of the suit before the Court.
“Yet, during the pendency of that order, which he appealed against, he joined others in causing to be filed, a Charge against Yahaya Bello, an action contemptuous of the Order of that Court.
“It is a shame that we have given desperate politicians the power to stain the noble intentions of Mr. President as regards the fight against corruption. It is also sad that criminally minded opposition politicians are now working in cahoots with internal collaborators against the APC and, indeed the President, all in the name of an ill-fated political chess game. But they will be exposed, sooner than later.
The statement further revealed that the Kogi state government had stated unequivocally on many occasions that all its financial records are clean and up-to-date and that there are no missing or stolen funds belonging to the State.
“All that is happening currently is that the EFCC is unwittingly availing itself to evil political forces who have ulterior motives.
“Our Principal, H. E Yahaya Bello, remains committed to the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the continued wellbeing of a State that he has served diligently for eight years.
“We therefore call again on the President to call EFCC to order in the interest of the rule of law.”