A group, Kogi Youth Emancipation for Justice (KYEJ) has said that the immediate past Governor of Kogi state, Yahaya Bello, remained a man of integrity despite the allegations of corruption levelled against the former
To this end, the group noted that anyone who has anything against the Bello should seek redress at the court of competent jurisdiction.
TheHintsNews reports that on April 17, 2024, the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had laid siege to Bello’s residence in Abuja, in an attempt to arrest him over an alleged N80.2 billion fraud.
However, in a series of documents that went viral, the former Kogi State governor was alleged to have paid $720,000 in advance as fees for five of his children from the coffers of the Kogi State Government at American International School of Abuja (AISA).
Addressing a press conference on Saturday in Abuja, the FCT Chairman of the Group, Mr. AbdulGaniyu Muluku called on the anti-graft agency to obey the subsisting interim injunction and adhere to the principles of due process.
According to him, For an institution to jump the court order to chase a man of integrity like this. Let them respect the court order and follow due process.
Also, the Convener of the group, Mr. Ibrahim Abdulraheem, argued that Bello who was a successful businessman before being elected into office as Governor has the wherewithal to pay for his children’s school fees abroad.
The protesters armed with placards with various inscriptions like: ‘EFCC please follow the rules of law’; ‘EFCC there are surplus of helpless cases in your office that have been there for decades, have you brought justice to them?’; and ‘Are you a show-glass witch hunter?’, ‘Where is justice for those cases?’; ‘Alh. Yahaya Bello was a billionaire before Governorship’; among others.
Abdulraheem said: “You said something about him withdrawing money for paying his children’s school fees according to the media with evidence. First of all, I want to ask, we are all Nigerians and we know how politics is being played in this country. Before assuming the office, he was a successful businessman, that’s the first thing I want everybody to know.
“He’s a successful businessman, this person in question has refunded a lot of money worth billions of Naira to the federal government. Now if this person wants to embezzle money as the media has portrayed him before the general public do you think he would refund back that money, no!
“So, whatever that is happening that the media has to come forth to start saying that he paid money or he did not paid money, does it mean that all his life he doesnt have such an amount of money to pay for his children’s school fees?
When asked whether the Group is satisfied with the eight years in office, he said: “I’m going to answer this question in two ways: No one is perfect except God Almighty that created the heaven and earth. So, for that 8 years, if we are not okay with him, I don’t think we can come out to seek justice. As much as he is human, there are a lot of little things that may go wrong, but for us, we are proud of him.”