North Central group to EFCC: Obey court order on Yahaya Bello

The North Central Citizens Council (NCCC) has advised the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) not to act above the law in its efforts to arrest and prosecute a former Kogi governor, Yahaya Bello. It also condemned the application of state power by the Federal Government. This came on the heels of a notice issued […]

The North Central Citizens Council (NCCC) has advised the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) not to act above the law in its efforts to arrest and prosecute a former Kogi governor, Yahaya Bello.

It also condemned the application of state power by the Federal Government.

This came on the heels of a notice issued by the EFCC declaring Bello wanted for offences “in connection with an alleged case of money laundering to the tune of N80.2bn.”

The embattled former governor was placed on the watch list of the Nigerian Immigration Service while all police officers attached to him have equally been withdrawn by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun.

However, the NCCC in a statement on Monday by its coordinator, Comrade Mohammed Eneji, faulted the actions of the Federal Government in the ongoing face-off between the EFCC and the former governor.

Eneji said: “How can Yahaya Bello, a former governor, be declared wanted by the EFCC when he is not running away; when there is a subsisting court stopping his arrest that has not been vacated? All that the EFCC did was to rush to another court of coordinate jurisdiction and then declare him ‘wanted’.

“The same day in quick succession, the IGP withdrew his security details, the flippant Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu media man asked Yahaya Bello to surrender himself and Fagbemi, the attorney general saying the same thing and the comptroller general of immigration declaring that they are watching out for him. For what? EFCC, fight corruption, NOT political battles please.

“We reject in totality the attempt to humiliate our amiable leader, Yahaya Bello, and demand that the EFCC withdraw immediately and unconditionally the tag that Yahaya Bello is wanted.

“If Yahaya Bello is further humiliated and hounded by the Federal Government, we will stage a mega protest that will reverberate around the country. If the President occupies Aso Rock Villa, we will occupy Eagle Square. If the Attorney General occupies the courtrooms, we will take over Abuja City Gate. If the IGP occupies the Louis Edet House, we will occupy the Eagle Square, and if they occupy the borders with immigration, we will occupy the streets of Abuja and Nigeria.”