Alleged N84bn fraud: Why EFCC should declare Yahaya Bello wanted now, PDP chieftain Okai speaks

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been urged to declare former Kogi state governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, wanted over an alleged misappropriation of funds.

The House of Representatives candidate on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for Dekina/Bassa in the 2023 elections, Usman Okai Austin, made the call in a statement made available to Legit.ng on Saturday, March 16.

Okai also issued a fervent call to safeguard the interests of the people of Kogi state regarding the misappropriation of funds by the former governor, Yahaya Bello.

According to him, despite the arduous task of protecting the state, it is imperative not to overlook the plight of civil servants grappling with the repercussions of fiscal misdeeds.

Corruption allegations rocking Kogi state

Recall that on August 31, 2021, Justice Tijani Garba Ringim, a vacation judge, ordered the freezing of the account following an ex-parte application filed by the EFCC.

The anti-graft agency, in a 13-paragraph affidavit in support of the ex-parte application, had stated that it received credible and direct intelligence, which led to the tracing of funds reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities in account No. 0073572696 domiciled in Sterling Bank Plc with the name Kogi State Salary Bailout Account.

Moving the application for the interim forfeiture of the funds on August 31, 2021, A. O. Mohammed, counsel to the EFCC, urged the court to grant the order to prevent further dissipation of the funds in the account.

Mohammed had also told Justice Ringim that the N20 billion meant to augment the payment of salary and running costs of the government was kept in an interest-yielding account with the bank.

He said: “Instead of using the money for the purpose it was meant for, Sterling Bank Plc, acting on the instruction of the Kogi State government, transferred it from the loan account and placed it in a fixed deposit account.”

Reacting, Kingsley Fanwo, Kogi state commissioner for information, debunked the allegation, stating that the state government judiciously used the funds for its intended purpose.

However, Okai countered Fanwo's comment, saying: "It is untenable to shield any individual, including former Governor Yahaya Bello, at the expense of the welfare of Kogi workers. The ramifications of such actions are profound, with millions of lives hanging in the balance."

Recently, the EFCC named ex-Governor Bello in an ongoing corruption case but has yet to charge him formally.

The former governor’s nephew, Ali Bello, and his associate, Dauda Suleiman, the two defendants in the case, were accused of diverting funds belonging to Kogi state.

But in the newly introduced count, the two defendants in the case were accused of conspiring with Bello to convert the total sum of N80.2 billion (N80,246,470,089.88) belonging to Kogi state government to personal use.