*Pix above: Ex-Gov Yahaya Bello
PLEASE SHARE
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has named a former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, as an accomplice in alleged corruption conduct involving his nephew, Mr Ali Bello, to the tune of N100bn while in office.
Mr Bello’s name was mentioned during the re-arraignment of his nephew, Ali Bello, and a co-defendant for money laundering at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The anti-graft agency had amended the charges on 5 February, raising the number of counts from 10 to 17 against the younger Bello and his co-defendant, Dauda Suleiman. The trial started in 2022.
In Count 1 of the amended charges, the only count that features the name of former Governor Bello, the EFCC accused him of conspiring with Ali Bello, Dauda Suleiman and Abdusalam Hudu in September 2015 to convert over N80 billion belonging to Kogi State to their personal use. EFCC also said in the count that the former governor and Mr Hudu remained at large..
But Mr Bello was elected governor of Kogi only on December 3, 2015 and sworn in on 27 January 2016. It remains unclear why he is being named in an alleged corrupt conduct that happened months before he was elected. His aides also said he is not on the run and that he has neither been invited nor quizzed by the EFCC for any wrongdoing even though he no longer enjoys immunity from prosecution.
The count, which is the only one that features the former governor’s name, reads: “That you, Ali Bello, Dauda Suleiman, Yahaya Adoza Bello (still at large) and Abdulsalam Hudu (still at large), sometime in September 2015 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, conspired amongst yourselves to convert the total sum of N80,246,470,089.88 (Eighty Billion, Two Hundred and Forty-six Million, Four Hundred and Seventy Thousand, Eighty-nine Naira, Eighty-eight Kobo), which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of the proceeds of your unlawful activity to wit: criminal breach of trust and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(b) and punishable under Section 15(3) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 as amended.”
In the 17 charges, the EFCC accused the defendants, including those who are allegedly on the run, of diverting N100 billion belonging to Kogi State during Mr Bello’s administration.
The younger Bello and his co-defendant had objected to the amendment to the charges.
But the trial judge, James Omotosho, okayed the amendment in a ruling on 23 February, paving the way for the defendants to be re-arraigned based on the amended charges on Thursday.
Former Governor Bello, who has not been charged as a defendant, was not present in court on Thursday, with the EFCC claiming in the amended charges that he is on the run.
However, Alli Bello, who is the current Chief of Staff to the incumbent Kogi State Governor Usman Ododo, and his co-defendant, Dauda Suleman, pleaded not guilty to the 17 counts read to them during Thursday’s proceedings.
Before the reading of the charges to the defendants, the defence lawyer, A.M Aliyu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), objected to the re-arraignment of his clients.
Mr Aliyu argued strenuously that the EFCC failed to comply with statutory provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act.
He said the prosecution failed to serve the defendants with a copy of the charge well ahead of the hearing.
Reacting to the objection, the prosecuting lawyer, Oyedepo Rotimi, a SAN, urged the court to dismiss Mr Aliyu’s contention, noting that the court had approved of the amended charge.
Ruling on the contention, Justice Omotoso said he had granted a speedy hearing of the case.
Thereafter, the judge instructed the court registrar to read the amended charge to the defendants.
In other charges, Ali Bello and Dauda Suleiman were alleged to have diverted several millions of naira from the government coffers and kept the money with one Rabiu Tafada, a Bureau De Change (BDC) operator trading under the business name Global Venture in Abuja.
After the charges were read to the defendants and they pleaded not guilty, the defence lawyer requested that one of the prosecution witnesses, Edward Fanada, be recalled for a fresh cross-examination owing to the contents of the amended charges.
The judge granted Mr Aliyu’s request following no objection by Mr Rotimi.
Thereafter, the judge allowed the defendants to remain on bail he earlier granted them.
Meanwhile, statement by EFCC’s spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, captured the segment of the proceedings in a statement on Thursday.
The statement said, that in continuation of the trial, Mr Oyedepo invited the fourth prosecution witness (PW4), Yakubu Gana, to testify.
Mr Gana was said to be a lawyer to the owner of a property in Danube Street, Maitama, Abuja, allegedly sold to Ali Bello and Mr Suleiman. The defendants allegedly bought the property at the cost of N950 million on behalf of ex-governor Yahaya Bello through their lawyer, Ramalan Jibril Abdullahi.
Mr Gana said: “We negotiated and agreed on the sum of N950million. Their lawyer, Ramalan Abdullahi, said his clients would prefer to pay in cash and dollars. I had to call my client to inform him because he was not in the country at that time. My client cautioned me whether I knew the buyers, and I answered I knew their lawyer way back in secondary school./PLEASE SHARE
