Immediate past governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, is still on the run 107 days after being declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission.
EFCC had on April 18, 2024, declared Bello wanted in connection with an alleged case of money laundering to the tune of N80,246,470,089.88.
Saturday PUNCH recalled that a group of armed men identified as ‘Special Forces’ and some policemen prevented EFCC operatives from apprehending Bello at his Wuse Zone 4, Abuja residence on Wednesday, April 17.
The current governor of Kogi State, Usman Ododo, also rushed to Bello’s house and escorted him out of the location.
EFCC had earlier been granted a warrant of arrest by a Federal High Court in Abuja to apprehend the former governor.
Bello and three other suspects, Ali Bello, Dauda Suliman, and Abdulsalam Hudu, were to be arraigned before Justice Emeka Nwite on 19 counts related to money laundering.
But the inability of the anti-graft agency to arrest the former Kogi State governor stalled the arraignment.
The House of Representatives candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party for Dekina/Bassa Federal Constituency in the 2023 elections, Austin Okai, had on June 21 claimed that Bello was hiding in the state Government House in Lokoja.
Okai’s claim contradicted the earlier reports that Bello had been smuggled out of the country after the raid on his house.
However, the EFCC has continued a manhunt for Bello, who had refused to surrender himself for arrest.
Speaking on the matter, the Executive Director, Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre, Okechukwu Nwanguma, said the EFCC was not ready to arrest Bello.
According to him, the anti-corruption agency has sophisticated equipment to track and arrest Bello.
Nwanguma, in an interview with Saturday PUNCH, said, “It is surprising that despite all the hot waves and drama of the EFCC, including the vow of the chairman that he would resign if he couldn’t arrest Yahaya Bello, the man is still out there more than three months after he was declared wanted.
“If they truly wanted to arrest Yahaya Bello, they would have arrested him. If this was a case of a poor man, they would have easily arrested him.”
However, the spokesperson for the EFCC, Dele Oyewale, dismissed the insinuation that the agency had been compromised or unwilling to arrest the former governor.
Oyewale maintained that Bello remained wanted until arrested.
He said, “The matter is in court and there are various orders of the court. Senior lawyers who failed to bring him (Bello) to court are already slated for discipline.
“If an anti-corruption agency declares a suspect wanted, all over the world, he remains wanted until he is arrested.
“Yahaya Bello has been declared wanted and he remains wanted. Judicial processes have been instituted in court and they are ongoing.”