Abuja, Nigeria — Former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, alongside his nephew Ali Bello, Dauda Suleiman, and Abdulsalam Hudu, faces prosecution on 19-count charges related to money laundering amounting to N80.2 billion. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is coordinating with other security agencies to apprehend Bello, who is reportedly hiding in the Government House in Lokoja, the state capital.
The EFCC’s efforts to arrest Bello included a raid on his residence in Abuja, which was thwarted by Governor Usman Ododo, who arrived and prevented the agency from detaining his predecessor. Subsequently, the EFCC declared Bello’s whereabouts unknown and placed him on a watchlist.
EFCC lead counsel, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), informed the court on Wednesday that the prosecution is making arrangements to bring Bello to court. Pinheiro mentioned that the EFCC is collaborating with other security agencies to “extract the defendant from the Kogi State Government House where he is hibernating.”
On the same day, Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja requested the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) to investigate Bello’s lawyers, Abdulwahab Mohammed (SAN) and Adeola Adedipe (SAN), for professional misconduct. The two senior lawyers were accused of failing to fulfill their commitments to produce the former governor for arraignment, despite their assurances to the court.
Justice Nwite stated, “Ordinarily, I would have taken this matter head-on, but I would prefer to refer the matter to the Legal Practitioner’s Disciplinary Committee to propose necessary recommendation and necessary sanctions against the counsels.”