Having established prima facie evidence against the former lion, the audacious one developed the guts to demand that the anti-corruption body, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, send their agents to his own village to interrogate him.
"I Personally Invited Yahaya Bello To My Office For An Interview; He Said My Operatives Should Come To His Village" - EFCC Chairman, Olukoyede
Having established prima facie evidence against the former lion, the audacious one developed the guts to demand that the anti-corruption body, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, send their agents to his own village to interrogate him.
That is the attitude of a lion. I can agree with his admirers that Bello is not just a lion, but a white one. And I don’t think Bello is to blame, but rather the Buhari-led government that handed Kogi State to Yahaya Bello. He ruled the state unchecked, converting Kogi State liaison offices to his personal property, as he did with the Kogi liaison offices in Victoria Island and Surulere, both in Lagos. He also converted Kogi State property in Kaduna to personal property and completely sold out other properties inherited from Benue State to his associates.
He converted Kogi State accounts to his own personal accounts and utilized the money without regard for the rule of law. He stole workers' salaries without anyone questioning him. He was so powerful that he infiltrated Aso Rock under the Buhari administration and referred to himself as the son of a President.
He was a lord in the state, and whoever questioned him went down, except for a few who escaped the lion's claw. He was a terrible governor who betrayed everyone he came across and believed he could buy anyone with looted money. He was so rich that he didn’t care about the law. He recklessly hid N19.3 billion of Kogi salary bailout funds in a Sterling Bank account (Account No. 0073572696). When caught, he denied the money and the bank's involvement to the extent that the money was returned to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and is now part of our domestic loan that the state is servicing.
As a looter with audacity, Bello, who was caught red-handed, dragged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to court demanding N35 billion in damages. The case was instituted as a mere facelift, as he cared less about Kogi citizens and ruled the state as his personal gift.
Bello, who refused to honor EFCC invitations, today, through his lawyer, described the EFCC as an illegal organization, claiming that nobody can question him. He has refused to honor court summons and has since been declared wanted.
As a fugitive of justice, Yahaya Bello, when surrounded, summoned his puppet Usman Ododo, who whisked him away using the official motorcade of the Kogi State government. Since then, he has hired many civil society groups, unknown lawyers who stage protests, and public affairs analysts who are busy defending him on television stations, newspapers, and social media.
Usman Okai Austin
Writes from Abuja