Alex Enumah in Abuja
After several months of back and forth, a former Governor of Kogi State, Mr. Yahaya Bello, Wednesday appeared in court for his arraignment on alleged corruption and fraud to the tune of N110 billion.
Bello, who was brought to the premises of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), was wearing a white Kaftan dress and beaming with smiles.
He entered the court premises at 8.50am and walked straight into the courtroom of Justice Maryanne Anenih, where he would be arraigned on a 16 count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust, corruption and money laundering, amongst others.
The anti-graft agency, in a suit marked: CR/7781/2024, had accused Bello, Umar Shuaibu Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu, of spending over N110 billion of public funds to acquire several properties in Abuja and Dubai.
The suit dated September 24 but filed on September 25, by the anti-graft agency’s lawyer, Mr Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), accused the defendants of criminal breach of trust, an offence punishable under Section 312 of the Penal Code Laws of Northern Nigeria, 1963.
Bello had continued to challenge his trial by the EFCC and turned himself in on Tuesday, a few weeks after the Supreme Court dismissed the suit his state, in conjunction with some other states of the federation, brought before the apex court, challenging the powers of the EFCC and other anti-graft agencies to investigate and prosecute states’ officials over the spending of their own funds.
The plaintiffs had claimed that since they did not ratify the enabling laws that established the EFCC, the commission has no power to investigate them over corruption allegations.
Count one of the charge read: “That you, Yahaya Adoza Bello, Umar Shuaibu Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu sometimes in 2016 in Abuja, within the Jurisdiction of this Honourble Court agreed amongst yourselves to cause to be done an illegal act to wit: criminal breach of trust in respect of the total sum of N110, 446, 470, 089.00 (One Hundred and Ten Billion, Four Hundred and Forty six Million, Four Hundred and Seventy Thousand, Eighty Nine Naira) entrusted to you.”
Bello, had on Tuesday, turned himself in to the commission, which had sought a warrant for his arrest as far back as April this year.
The former governor had on September 18, turned himself in to the anti-graft agency who had filed charges against him before the Federal High Court, Abuja. After waiting for several hours without anyone attending to him, he had left the premises without been interrogated or detained.
However, in his second surrender to the headquarters of the EFCC, THISDAY learnt that he was arrested on Tuesday afternoon shortly after he entered the headquarters of the commission in the Jabi area of Abuja.
According to the spokesman of the commission, Mr Dele Oyewale, the former governor was arrested around 12.45 pm and would be arraigned on Wednesday.
He added that Bello was with three of his lawyers when he was arrested.
Unlike his first visit, Bello was not accompanied by the current Governor of Kogi State, Usman Ododo.
It was also reliably gathered that the former governor drove himself in a black hilux to the EFCC office with his lawyers.
There were rumours last week that he was going to visit the EFCC but the former governor’s media aides did not respond to enquires on the information.
At the last hearing on November 14, the EFCC had sought for adjournment to November 27 in the fresh case it instituted against Bello, saying the 30 days window was still running for the summons earlier issued.
The EFCC, however, admitted his co-defendants, Umar Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu, to administrative bail and prayed the court for extension of time for the first defendant to appear.
Last modified: November 27, 2024
