By Kunle Aremu
Former governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello should take a vocation in acting. He will not need to appear in many Nollywood movies to make the fame.
His display at the gate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission last week went viral and may have skilled him as the new comedian in town.
Bello is already a celebrity having ruled the confluence state for two terms but not without allegation of money laundering that has now become his millstone.
Having gone under to disregard the invitation of the EFCC over N80.2 billion scandal, Bello alongside his successor, Ahmed Usman Ododo played a script that may haunt the incumbent in the nearest future.
Not surprising anyway that Ododo who whisked away Bello when the operatives of the EFCC first visited the former governor’s home was actually the one to lead the entourage to the EFCC headquarters to present his benefactor.
It was the last Ododo had to do to show his loyalty to his political godfather, even though investigation revealed that the governor is suffering in silence, trying to protect the interest of Bello.
He had been spending the state funds to sell media propaganda for his predecessor against the antigraft agency. The emphasis is not whether Bello actually committed the crime but the manner with which the EFCC is going about the matter.
Ododo, according to a source was fed up because Abuja did not support his role even though he is a governor on the platform of the All Progressives Congress. He was warned to withdraw his support so that he would not go down with his predecessor.
However, some forces within the Kogi APC caucus rose, urging Ododo not to leave his benefactor during this trying period. The governor found himself at the crossroads and had no option to persuade Bello to show up at the EFCC unannounced.
Having turned down several EFCC invitation, I think it will be decorous enough for Bello or perhaps his custodian, Ododo to notify the antigraft agency that he would presenting himself for questioning on a particular date. He stormed the EFCC office unannounced and expected to be arrested or received for questioning.
For Ododo, it was a gameplan to quickly release his former boss to the antigraft agency and get the hook out of his neck but his plan boomeranged as the operatives of the EFCC refused to play into their hands.
Like other law enforcement agencies, EFCC has procedures of arrest and having declared Bello wanted, the agency refused to be served with a bait. Bello’s case is as put in the book of proverbs 28;1, that the wicked flees when no one is pursuing him.
Bello’s idea of arrest is a wildlife experience of the predators and their preys; the hunters and the hunted who have rules and strategies to either be killed or escaped being killed.
As ferocious as lion is and as beautiful as it looks, it is one of the most cautious predators that will not pounce on a visiting prey. Yes EFCC is after Bello, the antigraft agency has acted smartly within the gamut of the law and its own rules. Lion defines its rule of hunting and in this case, it is the EFCC’s procedures not Bello’s idea that must prevail and it offers a great opportunity of setting a precedence for any erring public figure under scrutiny.
The question is why did Bello go into hiding when EFCC invited him for questioning in April? Did he have the rights to choose the date to present himself to any law enforcement agency ? And why did he go to court to stop his arrest and suddenly woke up one morning to present himself for arrest?
Bello’s drama is wrong and crook both in the face of law and morality. It also sounds unbelievable that the EFCC operatives whom he said had asked him to go back home after his visit were the ones who lay siege at the Kogi government lodge in Abuja to arrest Bello.
While his entourage was able to post the pictures of his visit to EFCC headquarters, they forgot or refuse to circulate the shootings by the operatives at the Kogi’s lodge in Abuja.
According to a report, Bello’s attempt to surrender was rejected due to concerns that his actions were intended to compromise the commission’s operational procedures.
The EFCC stated that its investigation uncovered intelligence suggesting Bello’s motives were not genuine.
The report also showed that Bello was said to be communicating with some officers upon his arrival at the Commission’s premises, who misled him, thus throwing his surrender efforts overboard.
As a matter of fact, the EFCC chairman, Ola Olukoyede said on April 23 that he personally put a call to Bello over the invitation.
To the EFCC boss, inviting Bello is not synonymous with arrest but because the former governor turned down the invitation, the agency had to declare him wanted.
The agency insisted that Bello faces a 19-count charge of money laundering, which it believes he attempted to circumvent with his surrender bid.
The EFCC is a highly professional agency with strict guidelines regarding the arrest, bail, surrender of wanted suspects, investigation, and prosecution. Bello presenting himself like an emperor in an environment where he is a suspect.
A statement by the EFCC surmised Bello’s drama as a plot adding that the Commission encountered intelligence suggesting that the motives of the former governor for surrender could jeopardize his trial.
It stated “These factors led Ola Olukoyede to act swiftly and reject his contrived surrender offer. The only remaining opportunity for him is to appear in court on Wednesday, September 25, 2024, to enter his plea.
“The Commission is not concerned about his maneuvers because charges have already been filed against him, and his delay tactics could only worsen his case. His last opportunity is to present himself in court, which is the only action that can help his case.”
However, Bello has got another opportunity to represent himself to the agency if at all he is bold enough to do so.
Recall that Bello had avoided court sessions scheduled for his arraignment for at least five times, specifically on April 18, April 23, May 10, June 13, and July 17. Perhaps he will appear on Wednesday when the trial resumes at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The trial Judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, at the last sitting, held that proceedings would continue despite the appeal filed by the defendant before the Court of Appeal.
“The only saving grace and last opportunity is for him to show up in court on Wednesday, Sept. 25, to take his plea.
Kunle Aremu is a seasoned journalist and columnist
