EFCC pledges Yahaha Bello won’t evade justice for allegedly stealing N84b from Kogi coffers
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Yahaya Bello, despite his current grandstanding and theatrics, will certainly be prosecuted for allegedly stealing N84 billion from the coffers of Kogi when he was Governor between 2016 and 2024, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has pledged.
EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede gave the assurance in Abuja and vowed to resign if Bello is not prosecuted, a very rare principled stand to be taken by a public official in Nigeria – particularly one fighting financial corruption, the country’s national disease.
He alleged Bello transferred $720,000 from the state treasury to a bureau de change (BDC) before leaving office on 27 January 2024 to pay for his child’s school fees in advance.
“I have arraigned two past Governors who have been granted bail now – Willie Obiano and Abdulfatah Ahmed. We would have gone after Bello since January but we waited for the court order,” Olukoyede said.
“If I can do Obiano, Abdulfatah Ahmed and Chief Olu Agunloye, my kinsman, why not Yahaya Bello?”
“A sitting Governor, because he knows he is going, moved money directly from government to bureau de change, used it to pay the child’s school fees in advance, $720,000 in advance, in anticipation that he was going to leave the Government House.
“In a poor state like Kogi, and you want me to close my eyes to that under the guise of ‘I’m being used.’ Being used by who at this stage of my life?”
Olukoyede disclosed he personally reached out to Bello, offering him a chance to clarify the matter in a respectful setting within the EFCC office but said the man declined to cooperate, citing fears of harassment from an unnamed woman.
“I didn’t initiate the case; I inherited the case file. I called for the file, and I said there are issues here.
“On my own, I called him, which I am not supposed to do, just to honour him as an immediate past Governor. ‘Sir, there are issues. I’ve seen this case file. Can you just come and let us clarify these issues?
“He [Bello] said, ‘Ha! Thank you, my brother. I know, but I can’t come. There’s one lady that has surrounded EFCC with over 100 people to come and embarrass me and intimitade me.’
“I said if that is the issue, I’m going to pass you through my own gate, and you will come to my floor. We will accord you that respect. I will invite my operatives; they will interrogate and interview you in my own office. What could be more honourable than that to allay the fear?
“You know what he said: ‘Thank you, sir, but can’t they come to my village’?
Passion to move Nigeria forward
Olukoyede also listed the achievements of the EFCC so far during his tenure.
“We have recovered close to N120 billion and secured over 1,600 convictions in six months.
“I’m so passionate about the need for us to move forward in this country. We need the EFCC to survive. There are so many victims that we have wiped tears off their eyes, people that have been swindled in their millions. Every day, we keep recovering money for victims.”
Olukoyede spoke on Tuesday after the Abuja Federal High Court adjourned the case against Bello until May 10.
He also vowed that all those who obstructed Bello’s arrest will be brought to justice.
The EFCC is seeking to arraign him on 19 counts involving on alleged money laundering, breach of trust and misappropriation of funds to the tune of N84 billion.
Olukoyede said no matter what anyone does or the amount of attack against the EFCC, he and his officers will not relent in helping to sanitise the country.
He sought public support, saying if the EFCC fails, Nigeria fails, noting the efforts made have helped shore up the value of the naira and the foreign exchange (forex) market.
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