A Look At The EFCC And Yahaya Bello Case: An Independent Opinion -By Hajia Hadiza Mohammed

I have been following with keen interest the case involving the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and the erstwhile governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Adoza Bello who is said to be on the run following the statement by the EFCC declaring him wanted. The EFCC is seeking to arraign Yahaya Bello on 19 counts charge bordering on alleged money laundering, breach of trust and misappropriation of funds to the tune of N80.2 billion to which the embattled governor had sued for the exercise of his fundamental human rights and obtained an injunction to that effect; an order that is allegedly yet to be vacated before he was declared wanted by the anti-graft agency.

Ordinarily, I would not have dabbled into a case of this nature for obvious reasons but for the statement credited to the EFCC chairman, Mr. Ola Olukoyede in the media a few days ago wherein he was said to have threaten to resign if Yahaya Bello escapes prosecution. It was widely reported in the media that in a chat with editors at the EFCC Headquarters, Jabi, Abuja, on Tuesday, 23^rd April, 2024 that the chairman of the anti-graft agency swore to follow the prosecution of Mr Bello to the logical conclusion threatening to resign his appointment if not so and vowed that all those allegedly obstructing the arrest of the former governor would be brought to justice.

Without doubt, the statement sounds very ridiculous and suspicious. Nigerians are not known to resign from office accept when forced. Why would the chairman of the EFCC want to resign over the trial of Mr. Bello? Why would he want to personalize the trial of Yahaya Bello? Is his continued stay in office tied to the arrest and prosecution of the embattled youthful governor, Bello? Has he any personal grouse with former governor? Why the desperation to prosecute Bello when there are so many petitions and cases pending with the EFCC? Is Mr. Olukoyede acting out the zeal to do his work or is he being or pushed to go after the ex-governor of Kogi State?

There are indeed so many questions that need to be answered in this EFCC and Bello saga. And many concerned observers have insinuated that the statement of the chairman of the anti-graft agency indicates that he has already found Yahaya Bello guilty before his arraignment thereby making himself the prosecutor and the judge in the case, fueling the speculation that the anti-graft agency is being used by some powers within the ruling party to hound Bello who is said to be jousting for the position of the chairman of the APC. It believed in some quarters that the ordeal of Bello is connected with his ambition to be the chairman of the party and the forces that do not want him to be the APC chairman are behind his current travails.

I am not a fan of Mr. Yahaya Bello and I do not speak for him. But as an advocate and a right activist I stand for justice and fairness; I speak for anyone whose inalienable rights are threatened irrespective of who that person might be. From the look of things, it is doubtful if the embattled former governor of the Confluence State would receive fair treatment from the chairman of the anti-graft agency given his actions, body language and utterances so far.

Without holding brief for anyone, I think that most people run away from the anti-graft agency because of its crude methods of parading the alleged culprits, flagrant abuse of court orders and the subjection of people to sensational media trials. People tend to run when they think that they can’t get justice or that their fundamental rights will be infringed upon. And this obviously, may be the Yahaya Bello’s case.

In another development, there was also media report that the EFCC operatives dispersed pro-Yahaya Bello protesters in Abuja further reaffirming the fears of many that that the chairman of the EFCC may not give the fleeing former governor a fair treatment. This also is a breach of peoples’ right to protest and therefore unacceptable in a democracy. Why would the anti-graft agency disperse people engaged in lawful protest? Dispersing peaceful protest under whatever guise is an ill-advised action that could breach public trust, create suspicions, distrust and break down of law and order.

If Mr. Ola Olukoyede and his men want to sanitize the country as he has pledged, he knows what to do and where to begin. He should first of all treat conclusively all outstanding and pending cases with the commission. He should not make the agency a tool in the hands of the politicians. The anti-graft commission should not be used as a platform to settle personal scores. He should operate within the ambits of the law. He must obey court orders. Condemning people before they are tried and making provocative statements should not come from the leadership of an agency as sensitive as the EFCC.

As it is, no serious Nigerian takes the EFCC or any of the nation’s security and anti-graft agencies seriously. It is joked that it is only the unserious people that take them seriously. And this is not good for our country. It means that Nigerians have no confidence in its public institutions because of abuse of office. Nigerian public officers don’t know where to draw the line between personal matters and official matters. Nigerian public officers see themselves as lords and take every opportunity to trample on the rights of the citizens. Nigerian public officers see themselves as above the law and flout court orders at will. This is something the National Assembly must look into. I do not know the orientation given to public officers before they assume office. If there is no formal induction, the NASS should create an agency that will do so. Public officers must know their duties and obligations.

Hajia Hadiza Mohammed

hajiahadizamohammed@gmail.com

An actress, social activist, politician

London, UK