The long-running legal battle between the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC and former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello took an unexpected turn this week. In a notice filed on April 22nd, the anti-graft agency withdrew its appeal against a Kogi High Court order restraining them from arresting the embattled ex-governor.
The EFCC admitted that the appeal was filed outside the allowed time frame under the law. But more significantly, the commission stated that “events have overtaken the appeal” – an apparent reference to the same High Court vacating its earlier ex-parte order against Bello’s arrest on April 17th.
This development marks a setback for the EFCC in its high-stakes case against Bello, who is facing 19 counts of alleged money laundering, breach of trust, and misappropriation of over N80 billion in state funds during his tenure as governor. The commission’s chairperson, Ola Olukoyede, had vowed to either prosecute Bello or resign.
One of the explosive allegations is that Bello withdrew $720,000 from state accounts just before leaving office to pay his child’s school fees upfront. The EFCC declared him wanted after his successor, Governor Usman Ododo, allegedly helped him evade arrest by EFCC operatives who laid siege to his Abuja residence on April 17th.
While the withdrawal of the appeal halts the immediate threat of arrest for now, the substantive case against Yahaya Bello remains ongoing at the Federal High Court in Abuja. The twists and turns underscore the intense legal tussle between Nigeria’s top anti-corruption agency and the controversial former governor.
Will the EFCC be able to make its case stick? Or will Bello’s deep pockets and political connections help him evade justice? Only time will tell in this high-stakes legal drama playing out in public view.
Reference
EFCC Withdraws Appeal Against Order Restraining Yahaya Bello’s Arrest Published in Channels