Osamagbe Imadiyi
Alhaji Yahaya Bello, the immediate former governor of Kogi State, will be charged by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) this morning in the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Bello will be charged with 19 counts, including alleged N80.2 billion fraud, before trial judge Emeka Nwite.After the former governor repeatedly failed to show up for his arraignment, Justice Nwite issued a warrant for his arrest on April 17.
The current governor of Kogi State, Ahmed Ododo, allegedly thwarted EFCC agents’ attempt to carry out the arrest order at Bello’s Abuja home by escorting him away in his official vehicle. But after months of evasion, Bello turned himself in to the anti-graft agency last Tuesday, and on Wednesday he appeared before a Federal Capital Territory High Court.
The FCT high court’s Justice Maryanne Anenih had remanded the defendant in the EFCC’s custody after he entered a not guilty plea. The Federal High Court’s current case was initially scheduled for January 21, 2025, but the anti-graft agency convinced trial judge Nwite to shorten the date.
Alongside the former governor, his nephew Ali Bello and two other people, Dauda Suleiman and Abdulsalam Hudu, will be arraigned. The defendants were charged by the EFCC with money laundering, breach of trust, and misappropriation of public funds.
