SINCE the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) released the final list of candidates to contest the 2027 senatorial elections, Nigerians have been talking, with many raising concerns over the “failure” of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to successfully prosecute the former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello.
Netizens have taken to X to vent their frustration at the EFCC over what they described as the commission’s failure to secure Yahaya Bello’s conviction over alleged corruption charges, after the former governor’s name appeared on INEC’s list of senatorial candidates.
Many directed their attacks at the EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, who in 2024 pledged to resign if he failed to personally oversee the completion of the investigation into the former governor of Kogi State.
The reactions followed the appearance of Bello’s name on the INEC list as the APC candidate for the Kogi Central senatorial election, putting him against the incumbent senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of the Peoples Democratic Party.
Daniel Regha on X queried whether the EFCC chairman was proud of himself.
“Hope the @officialEFCC chairman is proud of himself for doing absolutely nothing at the end of the day. After all the wanted poster and brags, look at an alleged criminal contesting,” he said.
Salaudeen Adisa asked why Bello can still contest despite facing court cases.
“Honestly, this one fit make person ask wetin all the EFCC noise was about. If he can contest after everything wey happen, then people go naturally question the whole process,” he said.
Nathaniel Agada, in response, said, “They’ll tell you that he’s innocent until he’s convicted by a court of law. Leave Nigeria matter and face your life.”
Supreme said, “@officialEFCC is the most corrupt office in this country. They face young boys, burst their houses to arrest them, but forget to arrest the corrupted politicians. Yaya Bello, who is being declared wanted by @officialEFCC, is there, allowing him to campaign and win too. Nigeria is bad.”
Gos’s Boy alleged that the EFCC chairman is incompetent.
“@officialEFCC your chairman is the most incompetent in EFCC history; he only chases after young boys and leaves the real criminals. He should be ashamed,” he said.
The reaction is against the backdrop of Olukoyede’s 2024 pledge, even though the EFCC is currently prosecuting the ex-governor in two courts.
Bello is facing criminal proceedings involving allegations running into hundreds of billions of naira, including the EFCC’s long-running N80.2 billion money-laundering case before the Federal High Court in Abuja and a separate N110.4 billion criminal breach of trust and money-laundering case before the Federal Capital Territory High Court.
There has been no conviction in either case.
At the same time, Bello has returned to the political frontline and secured the ruling APC ticket to contest the Kogi Central senatorial seat in the 2027 election.
During a campaign visit to the palace of the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland in late August 2026, the former governor declared to fight corruption and put an end to it if elected to the Senate in 2027.
Since then, his corruption cases have resurfaced in public debate. An X user, @Clinton207O, shared a screenshot of Olukoyede’s 2024 statement and sarcastically questioned the situation, writing: “No wonder Yahaya Bello wants to fight corruption, since Olukayode failed. They can equally just make Yahaya EFCC chairman.”
The following day, another X user, @Omatune, similarly juxtaposed Olukoyede’s pledge with Bello’s political ambitions, writing: “EFCC Chairman: I’ll resign if I don’t arrest Yahaya Bello for corruption. Yahaya Bello: I’ll fight corruption and end it, since EFCC Chairman couldn’t do his job. Do you understand?”
Another user, @preciouslege, responded to an August 29 post by the official EFCC account about arrests and extraditions, asking: “Great, but Yahaya Bello is still roaming free, and probably gearing up for elections.”
The comments reflect a frustration that has followed Bello’s move to return to elected office in 2027. His political comeback has therefore placed the unresolved corruption proceedings and the EFCC’s earlier pursuit of him in the same public conversation.
Other X users were more directly critical of the EFCC’s handling of the case.
An account identified as @dhabiblaw wrote that Bello’s case had “grown wings,” adding that people could allegedly commit crimes and escape consequences by simply carrying the APC flag. The post was a political opinion, not a fact, and its allegation should not be presented as a finding of guilt.
There were also reactions directly questioning the relationship between Bello’s political resurgence and the EFCC’s prosecution.
An X user identified as @Zim09905110 posted a sequence linking Bello’s EFCC wanted status, the presidency’s birthday message to him, the subsequent political developments and his Senate ambition, while alleging that the EFCC had been instructed to stay away from him.
The development has revived questions over the status of the cases and the meaning of Olukoyede’s dramatic 2024 commitment.
The pledge that put Olukoyede on the spot
The EFCC’s confrontation with Bello reached a dramatic point in April 2024, after it accused the former governor of financial crimes involving about N80.2 billion and moved to arrest him.
On April 17, 2024, EFCC operatives attempted to arrest Bello at his Abuja residence after obtaining an arrest warrant. But the operation failed after the Kogi State Governor Usman Ododo arrived at Bello’s residence at 9 Benghazi Street, Wuse Zone 4.
The commission alleged that Ododo’s intervention allowed Bello to leave the residence in the governor’s official vehicle, breaching its security cordon.
The following day, the EFCC declared Bello wanted and appealed to members of the public for information about his whereabouts.
Six days after the failed arrest attempt, Olukoyede said that he would personally oversee the completion of the investigation into Bello and would resign if he failed to do so.
“If I do not personally oversee the completion of the investigation regarding Yahaya Bello, I will tender my resignation as the EFCC chair,” he said.
While some view the EFCC’s ongoing prosecution of Bello as a fulfilment of Olukoyede’s promise, netizens argue that the EFCC chairman’s pledge was widely interpreted to mean he would secure the former governor’s conviction.
However, on August 20, 2024, the Court of Appeal in Abuja ordered Bello to surrender himself for arraignment, but Bello only went to the EFCC headquarters in Abuja on September 18, 2024, accompanied by Ododo in response to an invitation from the commission.
Bello’s media office said he had honoured an invitation from the commission after consultations with his lawyers, family and political associates, and that EFCC officials allowed him to leave without interrogating him.
However, EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewale, insisted that the former governor remained wanted over the alleged N80.2 billion fraud and that a warrant for his arrest was still subsisting.
EFCC operatives again attempted to arrest him at the Kogi Governor’s Lodge in Asokoro that evening, where security personnel resisted the operation.
The following day, Bello was arraigned at the FCT High Court in Abuja, before Justice Maryanne Anenih, for a separate N110.4 billion criminal breach of trust and money-laundering case under charge FHC/ABJ/CR/98/2024.
He was charged alongside Umar Shuaibu Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu on 16 counts involving alleged criminal breach of trust, conspiracy, money laundering and possession of unlawfully obtained property.
All three defendants pleaded not guilty.
The court then remanded Bello to EFCC custody and adjourned his bail application to December 10, 2024.
Two days after his successful arraignment, the EFCC attempted to arraign him in a separate N80.2 billion case before Justice Nwite, but the attempt failed because Bello’s lawyers were not in court.
The EFCC asked Justice Nwite to allow Bello to enter his plea without his lawyers, but the judge rejected the request, holding that proceeding without legal representation would raise fair-hearing concerns.
The court adjourned the matter to December 13, 2024 and ordered that Bello remain in EFCC custody.
On December 13, 2024, Bello was arraigned before Nwite on the EFCC’s 19-count charge involving N80,246,470,089.88, to which he pleaded not guilty to all counts.
The court granted him N500 million bail, with conditions including two sureties in like sum and the surrender of his international passport.
The ICIR reports that both cases are ongoing.
I have fulfilled my promise- Olukoyede
Olukoyede, however, in January 2026, maintained that he had fulfilled his promise as Bello’s case was now before the judiciary.
“Have I not made good that promise of commitment? Is Yahaya Bello not being prosecuted? The case is still in court,” he said.
However, some social media users insist that prosecution does not mean completion of a criminal case, and the EFCC chairman has no power to dictate the outcome of a judicial proceeding.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.