The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has accused the Kogi State Governor, Usman Ododo, of hiding his predecessor, Yahaya Bello, at the state Government House.
The EFCC said that through his actions, Ododo has made himself an accomplice in crime even though he enjoys immunity as a sitting governor.
The allegations were made on Thursday by EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, during an interview with Arise TV.
He also accused Bello of insincerity and evasion for failing to present himself before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja, despite a court order.
Speaking on the appearance of the former Governor at the car park of the EFCC headquarters on September 18, Uwujaren said Bello only did a media stunt targeted at deceiving members of the public and carrying out a sinister objective.
“Even before he arrived at the car park of the EFCC, he had already sent out media information across all the platforms that he had presented himself to the EFCC and they even said he had been detained.
“At the time that information got out, he had not even arrived at the premises of the EFCC. That for us, was an indication that he had a game plan which was not a matter of just merely submitting himself to the commission and that game plan can only be explained by him alone,” Uwujaren said.
The EFCC accused Governor Ododo of constantly shielding Bello from arrest including facilitating his predecessor’s escape when the EFCC first attempted to arrest him at the Kogi State Government House in Lokoja.
He added that during the recent visit to the EFCC office, Ododo breached EFCC security protocols by driving directly into the commission’s car park without notifying security officers of Bello’s presence.
Uwujaren said: “From our review of what really happened, it was simply a case of the current governor Ododo, being conscious of the fact that he was turning himself into an accomplice of a crime he probably didn’t know about because all these while Yahaya Bello has been dodging EFCC and stalling proceedings, he has been hiding in government house in Lokoja and his escape when we made the first attempt to arrest him, it was the same governor that took him away.
“If they were responsible citizens who wanted to comply with the law, what they would have done immediately they arrived at the premises, is to go to the security post and tell the security on guard that Yahaya Bello has come to present himself to the EFCC and those on duty know what to do when the fugitive of the law presents himself to the EFCC. They bridged our security, bridged our protocols, went into the car park and started taking photos.”
Reacting to reports that Bello has negotiated a deal with some senior officials in President Bola Tinubu’s government which would allow him to make a plea bargain which would see him return the alleged stolen state funds raced to him, Uwujaren said no such deal was in place.
“The commission does not engage in deal making when it comes to either investigation or prosecution of anybody, whether high profile person or regular cybercrime person. We don’t do deals,” he said.
The federal government has filed a new 16-count charge against the former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, in a case that has intensified scrutiny of his financial dealings.
The charges, submitted to a federal high court in Abuja on Wednesday, center around an alleged criminal breach of trust amounting to ₦110,446,470,089.
