The chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, says the case involving a former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, is still in court and that he has done his bit on the matter as chairman of the antigraft agency.
Olukoyede said this while speaking on Channels TV on Sunday, January 11.
Recall that Olukoyede had vowed to resign if the former governor was not prosecuted.
“If I do not personally oversee the completion of the investigation regarding Yahaya Bello, I will tender my resignation as the chairman of the EFCC,” he said in April 2024
Nigerians have raised questions as to why Bello’s case has not been concluded.
Responding to such questions, Olukoyede in his interview said;
“Have I not made good that promise of commitment? Is Yahaya Bello not being prosecuted? The case is still in court. I have three cases against Yahaya Bello. Am I the judge who would determine the conviction? I have done my work. I have fulfilled my mandate. Nigerians must know that, and they must also encourage us in doing more. This man has been investigated, and we have filed charges against him, and the matter is gaining traction. ” he said
Bello is facing a 16-count charge involving alleged property fraud amounting to N110bn alongside Umar Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu. The former governor is also before the Federal High Court, where he is facing another 19-count charge of N80.2 billion fraud and money laundering.
The EFCC had declared Bello wanted in April 2024 over an alleged N80 billion financial crime.
According to the EFCC boss the ex-governor transferred $720,000 from the Kogi Government’s account to a bureau de change before leaving office, as an advance payment for his child’s school fees.
“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 fee 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 said