During a recent session, the Kogi State House of Assembly urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to retract the ‘wanted’ status assigned to Yahaya Bello, the state’s former governor.
The EFCC had previously implicated Bello, along with Ali Bello, Dauda Suleiman, and Abdulsalam Hudu, in 19 charges of money laundering amounting to N80,246,470,089.88. The motion to clear Bello’s name was initiated by Jibrin Abu, a representative of the Ajaokuta State Constituency in the House. The motion, titled “A Call to End All False, Frivolous, Fictitious, and Far from the Truth Smear Campaign Against Former Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello,” alleges that the EFCC has been unfairly targeting Bello.
Abu argued that the financial status of Kogi State is not robust enough to lose N80.4b without causing significant disruption. He further suggested that the EFCC’s accusations against Bello should be dismissed as baseless and absurd.
Abu appealed to “innocent Nigerians” and “Kogi State citizens” who have been misled by these allegations to voluntarily withdraw their support. Enema Paul, the former Deputy Speaker of the House, called on the anti-corruption agency to respect the rule of law. Similarly, the Speaker of the House, Aliyu Yusuf, cautioned the EFCC against violating the nation’s laws.
Yusuf emphasized that while the House does not oppose the EFCC’s duties, it insists that these duties be performed within the confines of the law, rather than in an authoritarian manner. He concluded by reminding everyone that “the country belongs to all of us, so we must respect the law and work with it.”
