EFCC Vs Yahaya Bello: Ex-Governor Goes Back Into Hiding

A fresh wave of drama erupted on Wednesday night between the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, following the agency’s unsuccessful attempt to apprehend the ‘wanted’ ex-governor.

EFCC operatives laid siege to the Kogi State Government Lodge in Asokoro, Abuja, where Bello was believed to be hiding.

The raid was part of ongoing investigations into allegations of financial misconduct, including a staggering ₦80.2 billion fraud.

Before the EFCC’s operation, Bello had publicly stated that he was ready to cooperate with the commission, claiming he had nothing to hide and had finally honoured their invitation. However, after several hours of waiting outside the lodge, the operatives left without fulfilling their mission.

According to sources familiar with the situation who spoke with Daily Trust, Bello has since returned to the Kogi State Government House in Lokoja, where he had been taking refuge before travelling to Abuja to allegedly “honour” the EFCC’s invitation.

Officials from the EFCC, who spoke anonymously due to restrictions on addressing the media, expressed frustration over the failed arrest, suggesting that the immunity of the sitting governor (Usman Ododo), aids Bello’s continued evasion.

One of the agency’s detectives confided in Daily Trust, “If not because of his successor, a sitting governor providing him cover, we would have arrested him since. This is still in line with a subsisting arrest warrant at our disposal.” 

When asked to provide more insight, the detective said, “The chairman of the commission, Ola Olukoyede, is cautious of rule of law. He does not want to flout some laws, particularly the law that confers immunity to Governor Ododo. So, that is why there has been restraint.”

The official, while revealing how the former governor escaped again, said the strategy used when he first escaped was the same method used to evade fresh arrest by the anti-graft agency.

An official in the Kogi government house, while speaking to the platform, berated the EFCC for trying to arrest Yahaya Bello in a Gestapo manner after he had submitted himself to the anti-graft agency for cooperation.

He said, “There is no need for all these Gestapo arrests. That is why Oga Yahaya was rescued through the governor’s convoy from gun-wielding operatives that had shot sporadically in the air for several hours at a time he wanted to rest after a hectic day.”