The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, or EFCC, has been accused by the media office of Kogi State’s most recent governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, of being anxious to carry out a hatchet job for unidentified interests.
The office further claimed that, for political motives and other reasons best known to them, the anti-corruption agency was determined to damage the former governor’s reputation.
According to the media office, this has been made clear by the numerous operational and procedural errors made by the anti-corruption agency from the start of its purported money laundering case against Ohiare Michael, the director of the office, in a statement dated Wednesday night.
“Yahaya Bello Must Have His Day in Court,” the words made public by the EFCC the same Wednesday, were characterized as “a face-saving but badly scripted statement.”
The former governor’s staff made particular notice of the fact that the EFCC had previously demonstrated to the world that its obsession with Kogi State and the former governor Bello was about more than just fighting corruption.
Ohiare brought up last Wednesday’s events, in which the former governor turned himself in willingly to the agency but was not questioned or held for more over four hours before EFCC agents attacked the Kogi Government Lodge late at night.
“Would the EFCC not have taken him in on that day to arraign him in court on the next adjourned date if the agency was truly interested in prosecution and not a deal by some unknown persons to humiliate the former governor and probably harm him for political reasons?” the man said.
How come an accusation of money laundering should be made public humiliating the entire nation, supposedly for the sake of boosting the self-esteem of those involved?
“We need the assistance of Nigerians to ask: What specifically is the EFCC requesting from former Governor Yahaya Bello?”
“The day in court for His Excellency, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, will come. Nobody is arguing against this. However, it will comply with the law, not as stipulated by the EFCC,” he added.
He continued, saying, “It’s interesting to note that this assumption becomes increasingly evident the more press comments the Commission issues under duress.
But it is disheartening that a significant organization like the EFCC has now degenerated to the point where it is unconventionally writing press releases to appease the gun lobby.
“The EFCC Chairman needs to be reminded that we are all part of the global village, even if he is working very hard to maintain his job by appeasing some purported donors, as some have suggested.
“At this point, the Commission ought to conduct a self-evaluation to mend whatever damage has been done to its reputation and stop tarnishing the reputation of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu by engaging in actions that have no place in the global campaign against corruption.
“We would like to stress once more that former Governor Yahaya Bello has behaved democratically by upholding the law and seeking legal protection from appropriate courts. His willingness to participate in the trials at several courts is evidence that he is not afraid of justice.
“Representation is permitted by law, and his attorneys have continuously represented him. He is entitled to pursue all legal options available to him as a Nigerian to defend his basic human rights. He, or anyone else, cannot be told how to approach this by the EFCC.
As of right now, it appears that the EFCC’s only objective is to carry out a desperate hatchet job, ruining the former governor’s character and slandering him without any basis.
“However, until a competent court of jurisdiction finds former Governor Yahaya Bello guilty, he remains innocent of the false accusations brought against him,” the EFCC has to educate itself on this matter.
As we write, a large number of knowledgeable Nigerians, both domestically and overseas, are still baffled as to why, four hours after the former governor voluntarily showed up to the EFCC headquarters, an anti-graft agency that had declared him wanted would urge him to go.
The most unsettling part of the entire story is that the same EFCC officials who claimed the former governor could not be held or questioned because he arrived with a sitting governor went to the sitting governor’s official lodge and forcibly arrested a man who had been in their office for more than four hours while the sitting governor was there, shooting intermittently.
“For Nigerians in this instance, no matter how hard the EFCC attempts to label an albino a white man, the truth is gradually being uncovered.
“Former Governor Yahaya Bello is determined to fight for constitutionality until the very end and will not fall into the traps and baits of an agency that has demonstrated bias, disdain, and an obvious attempt on his life.
“We would like to reiterate that former Governor Yahaya Bello upholds the rule of law.” All along, he had just asked for his basic human rights to be upheld, just like any other citizen.
This is demonstrated by the agency’s coercive, abusive, and despicable methods of disobeying lawful commands in situations involving alleged adversaries of their “sponsors or paymasters” and opting to follow instructions when they pertain to those who are well-liked by their godfathers.
“In this specific instance, it is evident that EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede is either waging a personal war for reasons he needs to address right away or is making a great effort to maintain the confidence of some of former Governor Yahaya Bello’s adversaries, who may have given him a mission he needs to complete at any costs.
“We are sympathetic to the Commission during this extremely difficult period of severely damaged public perception. Nigerians are becoming increasingly conscious that the purported war on corruption is not only selective but also has the potential to undermine our dynamic President’s admirable goals regarding the crucial battle against corruption and, more crucially, the welfare of Nigerians as a whole.
“We implore Mr. President to kindly order an exhaustive investigation into the EFCC-former Governor Yahaya Bello dispute, starting at the beginning, in order to uncover the true intentions of the aggressors.
The Commission has demonstrated blatant prejudice, intimidation, oppression, and complete contempt for the rule of law, as the timeline of events since April of this year will make evident.
“We emphasize once more that the EFCC had no business at the former governor’s house in April during the original siege because he was the subject of a legitimate court order prohibiting such action, which had not been revoked. Nor can the Commission show that it sent him a formal invitation.
“To correct the record, our principal showed up at the EFCC offices on September 18 despite continuing to seek the enforcement of his fundamental human rights, as the Court of Appeal merely revoked that ruling a few weeks ago.
Would the EFCC not have hauled him in that day to charge him in court on the next postponed date if it had been genuinely interested in prosecuting the former governor and not in agreeing with some unknown parties to degrade and perhaps hurt him for political purposes?
The EFCC shouldn’t act as both the prosecutor and the investigator at the same time under normal circumstances. However, it is legal to do so. But the fact that the Commission now acts as the judge is peculiar. They need to be reminded that this is Nigeria, and all Nigerians own this country.
“We beg that the authorities counsel the Chairman of the EFCC to do his duties as an investigator and not allow personal interests to continue to push him into avoidable blunders.
“The more contentious press announcements the Commission makes against former governor Yahaya Bello, the more the world is forced to witness the desperation to fulfill an as-yet-undefined goal. However, the law unquestionably outclasses their power.
“We applaud the Kogi State House of Assembly for raising this issue, and we extend our gratitude to all Nigerians who have realized that the EFCC’s desperation to disgrace former Governor Yahaya Bello goes deeper than what they are presenting to the public.”
