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He happened to Kogi State like a storm. A stormy petrel of some sort! And he has since remained in the eye of that storm. Youthful Yahaya Bello is it. The state’s immediate past governor.
They never expected it. All the same, it came to happen. He never pretended one day. He was fully in charge when he held sway. He demonstrated that firm grip unambiguously. From-start-to-finish.
He changed the narrative instantly. He sent political soothsayers crashing. The manner he emerged All Progressives Congress (APC) flag bearer jolted them. They were dazed and dazzled. They are yet to recover.
The amphibious political observers totally lost their bearings. And permanently became observed. Indeed, the Confluence State knew a Bello once governed it.
Since he came on board some eight years ago. There was no room for dull moment. He’s not new to storm and whirlwind. He can effectively handle them. That has been his familiar terrain. And the message was not lost on him.
He shot into limelight by the way he got the APC gubernatorial ticket in 2015. The sudden death of Abubakar Audu, the original holder of the ticket, offered him that rare opportunity. He grabbed it with everything in him. He was full of energy. All is now history.
Bello stirred the hornet’s nest during the COVID-19 pandemic. He took his governor-colleagues by surprise. He practically exposed the grand deceit called COVID-19. He insisted his state had nothing to do with the pandemic.
He sustained his stance when COVID-19 lasted and even beyond. His stout position; that pandemic was a huge scam. And should be treated as such.
He refused to shift ground. While other states coasted home with COVID-19 largesse. Bello refused to touch it even with the longest spoon. He held on to his faith and was loyal to his people.
Now. Out of government and out of power. Bello is returned to the eye of storm. And this time, unarguably, is the toughest, the loudest and the fiercest.
He’s in the two eyes of the wildest and weirdest storm. Prowling on him, blowing ferociously with the strongest winds.
There are glaring flaws in this shenanigan. And you won’t struggle to detect them. They trail the suspicious allegations variously filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The commission continued to goof uncontrollably.
It grossly alleged earlier this year, that Bello converted N80.2billion state funds to personal use in September 2015. That was nearly four months before he assumed office. The case was filed before Justice Omotoso at the Federal High Court, Abuja.
EFCC was restless. And it naively displayed it. This Bello must be taught a lesson. Hurriedly, it dragged Bello to another Federal High Court, still in Abuja. And with the same charges!
This time around, the commission altered the date of committing the offences. EFCC could not cover its tracks. It picked February 2016 as its new date. It left a fresh and huge loophole uncovered. This was less than one month Bello assumed office as governor.
Then this question would bother a rationale mind: How could a governor steal N80billion even before sitting down in office? And this was a state whose monthly allocation and Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) might not be more than N3billion!
Even stranger than fiction. Taking virtually the same set of charges before three different courts in the Federal Capital Territory. It was both flagrant abuse of prosecutorial powers of the agency and abuse of court process.
And came the unthinkable. It was unheard of in a democracy. One of the anti-graft agency’s lawyers had an uncanny audacity. He threatened a military and barrage of other actions against the former governor. It was an unjust application of state power.
It’s not humanly possible for Bello not to err in his eight years of governing Kogi State. So also are all the governors; past and incumbents. They’re all humans. They all have their fault lines. Only God does not. The reason Bello seeks fairness, justice and equity. All others also deserve these in the same measure.
What Bello desires here is fair trial. And that’s actually what he is thirsty for. Its traducer, EFCC, opted for a public sphere trial, aka media trial. That’s the pathetic stage we are in now in our queer clime.
But, let’s explore the same space. And see how Yahaya Bello will fair. Professor Nwoke Friday Chijioke, is former Vice President, ECOWAS Court of Justice. He had strong words for EFFC chairman, Ola Olukoyede:
“An institution of justice should be in a position, especially when you are the investigator, carry out a discrete investigation. You do not need to involve the media.
“You do not need to accord any privilege to Bello. The law does not require according or the giving of privileges to persons who are suspected of having committed an offence.”
Chijioke should know. So, he enlightened EFCC further: “In corruption cases, you don’t necessarily need to make an arrest. You don’t need to bring into custody. More often than not, in corruption cases, they are determined by documentary evidence.
”If you make out a prima facie case and you have evidence to make out a prima facie case, why don’t you file a case in court and serve the accused person? Why would you, in the first instance, perhaps advertise or publicise? That is, in the first instance, unfair hearing.”
A constitutional lawyer, Ewa Okpo, testified against EFCC on Arise TV: “What the EFCC is trying to do now is what can be described as trial by mischief.” Meaning:
”They (EFCC) ought to have at first invited the suspect (officially), in the person of Mr Yahaya Bello. When he refuses to honour the invite; EFCC does not even need to get a warrant from the court; it is an administrative power to issue a warrant.”
He was baffled. He wondered aloud: “EFCC is the watchdog. We need it to function in Nigeria. But in the course of them being the watchdog who watches them?”
Okpo’s final words, very critical: “And so when there is an order, EFCC, you cannot correct wrong by doing wrong.” Precisely. It’s not done in saner clime but ours.
We cannot pretend to run a system we don’t believe in. That amounts to deceit, hypocrisy. And we don’t need to be hypocritical in fighting the monster labelled corruption. We must make up our minds to be straightforward.
Hypocrisy is playing out in Kogi State. That state is the epicentre of EFCC activities at the moment. It undeservedly keeps Kogi State underwatch day and night. Courtesy: Yahaya Bello.
EFCC has been so hypocritical and selective in its operations. That has been its outstanding trademark since it happened to us.
It got to the climax on Yahaya Bello. And EFCC got its fingers further burnt. It’s becoming messier by every count. Its hold on Kogi State is strange. It’s strong and overwhelming.
Yet. EFCC couldn’t discover or reveal anything new so far. All the documents, receipts, etc, it bandied about were never unearthed by it. They are documents filed by Bello’s lawyers in furtherance of his defence.
Others were the documents filed by innocent parents at the American International School of Abuja (AISA). Still, EFCC displayed them unrestrained. It flaunted them carelessly, particularly online.
You will be forced to voice out: What investigations did EFCC do on Bello to warrant the N80billion fraud allegation? Absolutely nothing. Other than its usual “gira-gira” trial! That has been its crude and cruel mode of operation. Ridiculously biased. And it festers unabated.
Now that courts are resolute. They’re determined to curb EFCC’s deteriorating excesses. The agency flagrantly opted not to obey court orders. How dare you!
On the other hand, Bello was meticulous in his defence. It was watertight. He punctured EFCC’s spurious claims effectively. He cited three instances the agency brazenly chose to ignore court orders.
EFCC audacity of March 6, 2024 violated a court order. The High Court, Lokoja, had restrained EFCC from prosecuting Bello.
Moving forward. The agency attempted to arrest Bello on April 17, 2024. That also violated a court order of February 9, 2024.
Unrelenting EFCC wouldn’t give up. Its approach of the Federal High Court, Abuja, was the third violation. As early as 8:24am on the same April 17, it sought a warrant of arrest against Bello.
Like a pack of loose cards they were. All the attempts collapsed on the face of EFCC.
Bello put up strong contentions. And he’s not willing to cave in. He wouldn’t be cajoled or intimidated. He’s prepared to stick to his gun to the very end.
That’s how lions fight and win their battles!
