This assertion was made by him (Bello) even before he was sent for by the anti graft commission.
The numerous invitations sent to relatives and allies of Bello, were seen as an avenue to get at him, rather than clear the air on the allegations, he resulted to mobilising members of civil society to discredit the commission.
The supporters of Bello initially staged a fight against the former head of the anti graft commission Abdulrasheed Bawa, several protest were staged across the country, demanding for the removal of Bawa, citing allegations that he do not respect court order on any suspect standing trial for corrupt charges. He was also accused of being selective in his trial, that some indicted people were invited for questioning while he only focus on those who were his perceived enemy.
The officials of the EFCC were also alleged of extorting money from those indicted of corruption.
When a new government came on board led by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Bawa was relieved of his position. Bello supporters felt the battle has been won.
When Ola Olukoyede took over, as head of the anti graft commission, alas, his file (Bello) was revisited.
Rather than honour invitation sent to him he decided to go to court to scuttle effort of the anti graft commission.
The anti graft commission boss at a meeting with media executives said he had wanted to render help to Bello but he refused his offer to help him, during the investigation of alleged involvement in N80.2 billion money laundering accusation against him.
Olukoyede disclosed that he made personal efforts to invite Yahaya Bello to respond to investigations regarding his alleged involvement in the massive fraud during a telephone conversation.
He said, he had offered Bello ample opportunities to present himself for interrogation by investigators of the EFCC away from media glare following complaints by the former governor.
“On my honour, I put a call to him to honour him as a former governor. He said, I can’t come, claiming that a certain lady has surrounded the EFCC with over 100 Journalists to embarrass or intimidate him and all that stuff. I said if that is your fear, I will make you come directly to my floor.
“I will invite my operatives to interrogate you in my own office. What could be more honourable than that? Do you know what he said? ‘ Can’t they come to my village?’ My Director of Investigations also sent a message to him,” Olukoyede told media executives at the Corporate Headquarters of the EFCC.
The EFCC’s boss said he was worried at the report of larceny available to the EFCC concerning the former governor. “ A sitting governor, because he knew he was going, he moved money directly from the government’s account to a bureau de change to pay his children’s school fees in advance, $720,000 in anticipation that he was going to leave government house”, he said.
Penultimate, Thursday Bello was to be in court, but he bungled all moves to get him arraigned in court. Officials of EFCC had wanted to help him to court for arraignment on the corruption allegation against him, his house in Abuja was besieged by EFCC officials, but he managed to escape in the vehicle of his successor in office Usman Ododo who droved into his house in Abuja and ferried him out of the premises. He drove out with Bello in his vehicle.
Having evaded move to take him to court, he was declared wanted by the commission.
Sensing the implication of Ododo action and decision of Bello to go into hiding, Nigeria saw their move as betrayal of democracy and abuse of office, Professor Itse Sagay, former chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), said that Kogi State governor, Usman Ododo, has committed a criminal offence by shielding Yahaya Bello, his predecessor, from arrest.
Prof. Sagay said Ododo abused the immunity privilege he enjoys by whisking Bello away and preventing his arrest by anti-graft officials.
“That was a clear abuse of immunity. The immunity provision is meant for him alone. He has no right to extend it to other people. What he did by aiding Yahaya Bello’s escape was illegal and unconstitutional,” Sagay said.
He stressed “It is good the EFCC officials were restrained because they would have been justified in physically engaging the governor’s security team in order to seize Yahaya Bello from them.
“What the governor did was illegal. He was hiding a fugitive and that is a criminal offence. He is making himself an accessory after the fact.” The professor of law explained.
Other Nigerians said Bello is making his matter worse by failing to honour the invitation extended to him by the anti graft Commission.
The special adviser to President Bola Tinubu on information and strategy, Bayo Onanuga counselled Bello, to submit himself to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Onanuga advice was shared on his X after the anti-graft agency declared Bello wanted on Thursday for alleged money laundering to the tune of N80 billion.
“Yahaya Bello, where will you run to? It’s better you submit yourself to the EFCC and get a good lawyer,” the presidential aide wrote.
Expressing his displeasure over the development the Attorney General of the Federation(AGF) Lateef Fagbemi, warned against obstructing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The AGF said the “bizarre drama” confronting the EFCC as it tries to perform its statutory duty has become a “matter of very grave concern” to him.
He said the EFCC has the power to invite any person of interest, regardless of status, in the course of its investigation into any matter.
“A situation where public officials who are themselves subject of protection by law enforcement agents will set up a stratagem of obstruction, to the civil and commendable efforts of the EFCC to perform its duty is to say the least, insufferably disquieting.
“A flight from the law does not resolve issues at stake but only exacerbates it.”Fagbemi said.
Sensing the implication of his action, Bello gave excuse that his failure to appear before a federal high court in Abuja was due to fear of arrest by the EFCC.
The EFCC is seeking to arraign Bello on 19 counts bordering on alleged money laundering, breach of trust and misappropriation of funds to the tune of N80.2 billion.
Although the arraignment was initially scheduled for April 18, Bello was absent from court on the day.
At the court last Tuesday Adeola Adedipe, a member of Bello’s legal team, said his client would have appeared in court but was worried about being taken into custody.
“The defendant wants to come to court but he is afraid that there is an order of arrest hanging on his head,” Adedipe said.
He asked the court to revoke the warrant of arrest issued on April 17 against the former governor.
Adedipe argued that the charge had not been served on his client as required by law at the time the warrant of arrest was made.
“As at the time the warrant was issued, the order for substituted service had not been made. That order was just made this morning,” he said.
“A warrant of arrest should not be hanging on his neck when we leave this court,” counsel to the defendant added.
However, Kemi Pinheiro, EFCC’s lawyer, argued that for the arrest warrant to be vacated, the former governor must be arraigned and take his plea.
In order to create a soft landing for the former governor of Kogi, the anti graft commission filed a notice of withdrawal to discontinue an appeal against an order of a Kogi State High Court restraining it from arresting former governor Yahaya Bello.
In the notice filed on Monday, April 22, 2024 and signed by its counsel, J.S. Okutepa (SAN), the commission said the withdrawal was predicated on the fact that events had overtaken the appeal.
The commission also admitted that the appeal was filed out of the time allowed by law.
“The appellant herein intends to and do hereby wholly withdraw her appeal against the respondent in the above-mentioned appeal.
“This notice of withdrawal is predicated on the fact that; on the April 17, 2024, the application filed by the appellant herein was overtaken by the decision of the same High Court of Kogi state,”
“The orders made ex-parte by Jamil on February 9, 2024 in the said suit which is the subject of this appeal, was made to last pending the hearing and determination of the originating motion on notice which was finally determined by Jamil J. on April 17, 2024.”
On February 8, Bello instituted a fundamental rights enforcement suit, asking the court to declare that “the incessant harassment, threats of arrest and detention, negative press releases, malicious prosecution” of the EFCC – “without any formal invitation – is politically motivated and interference with his right to liberty, freedom of movement, and fair hearing”.
The former governor also sought an order “restraining the respondent by themselves, their agents, servants or privies from continuing to harass, threaten to arrest or detain him”.
On February 9, the Kogi high court granted an interim injunction restraining the EFCC from “continuing to harass, threaten to arrest, detain, prosecute Bello, his former appointees, and his staff or family members, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive originating motion for the enforcement of his fundamental rights”.
On March 12, the EFCC filed an appeal against the interim injunction because the court could not stop the commission from carrying out its statutory responsibility.
The Kogi court delivered judgment on the substantive motion on notice on April 17 wherein Isa Jamil Abdullahi, presiding judge, granted an order restraining the EFCC “from continuing to harass, threaten to arrest or detain Bello”.
However, Abdullahi directed the commission to file a charge against Bello before an appropriate court if it had reasons to do so.
The judgment coincided with the recent “siege” laid on the Abuja residence of Bello by EFCC operatives seeking to arrest him.
From all indications Yahaya Bello is afraid of his shadow, the pertinent question is can he run away from his shadow.
The former governor should sum up the courage to answer charges preferred against him by the anti graft commission and clear his name of the allegations against him.
After all he is not the first former governor to be invited to answer charges against him, neither would he be the last. If he had been dreadful of the EFCC as he does now while in office, he would have been mindful of how he spent government money and would have left office with his integrity intact and his shoulder high.
