EFCC has said little about the matter, leaving its reasons for refusing to get hold of Mr Bello, as claimed by the former governor, to public speculation
Former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello has said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) asked him to leave its office in Abuja after surrendering himself for interrogation on Wednesday.
The statement, the second to be issued on Wednesday by the ex-governor’s team regarding his running battle with the EFCC, said Mr Bello was accompanied by his successor, Governor Usman Ododo, to the anti-graft agency’s headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday.
“The EFCC did not, however, interrogate him as officials told him he could leave. We don’t know what this means yet,” Mr Bello’s media team wrote., adding, “As we write, HE Alhaji Yahaya Bello has left the EFCC office. He was accompanied there by the Governor of Kogi State, HE Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo.”
‘Yahaya Bello not in EFCC custody’
A few hours after Mr Bello’s first statement disclosing that he honoured the commission’s “invitation” was reported by several news outlets on Wednesday, the EFCC issued a terse statement to deny having the former governor in custody.
EFCC’s spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, said in his two-paragraph statement that the news of Mr Bello surrendering to the EFCC “is incorrect”.
Neither confirming nor denying if Mr Bello surrendered himself to the EFCC on Wednesday, the statement added, “The Commission wishes to state that Bello is not in its custody.
“Bello, already declared wanted by the Commission for alleged N80.2 billion money laundering charges, remains wanted with a subsisting warrant for his arrest.”
Hazy matter
However, Mr Bello, in his follow-up statement, insisted he was at the EFCC office on Wednesday.
The statement repeated the same reasons given in the earlier statement for Mr Bello’s refusal to attend court since April.
“Recall that the case has been before a competent court of jurisdiction, and Alhaji Yahaya Bello had been duly represented by his legal team at every hearing. The former Governor decided to honour the invitation to clear his name as he has nothing to hide and nothing to fear,” it read.
So far, EFCC’s statement leaves the issues hazy, and is bound to spark speculations about why it let the former governor go on Wednesday despite its months of frantic but unsuccessful efforts to arrest him.
With the trial scheduled to resume in a week, the public can only second-guess EFCC’s next move except it provides more elaborate explanations.
PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that Wednesday’s development comes a week ahead of the return date set by the Federal High Court in Abuja for Mr Bello’s arraignment.
At the last hearing in July, the trial judge, Emeka Nwite, adjourned till 25 September after dismissing a request by Mr Bello’s legal team to order a stay of proceedings.
The stalled trial
The EFCC charged Mr Bello with 19 counts of money laundering before the Federal High Court in Abuja after he completed his second and final term as governor in January.
The commission alleged in the charges that the former governor diverted more than N80 billion from the Kogi State Government’s treasury as governor of Kogi State.
A nephew of the former governor, Ali Bello, is standing trial along with others in a related case also at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
However, since filing the charges against Mr Bello, the commission has not been able to bring him to court for arraignment.
He has snubbed six court sessions scheduled for his arraignment, as he intensified legal efforts, including filing legal actions before the trial judge, Kogi State High Court and the Court of Appeal, to stop the trial.
At a point, he wrote the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, John Tsoho, to transfer the case to the Lokoja Division of the court. But the Chief Judge rejected the request and asked him to present the request before the trial judge. The trial judg, Mr Nwite, similarly refused the application.
In April, EFCC declared him wanted after a failed attempt to arrest him at his residence in Abuja.
PREMIUM TIMES
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