THE chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has vowed to bring to book all the people who obstructed the arrest of the former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, by the commission.
Olukoyede revealed this while addressing journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, April 23.
He vowed to follow Bello’s prosecution to a logical conclusion.
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The ICIR reported that the EFCC declared Bello wanted over alleged N80.2 billion fraud.
The anti-corruption agency revealed this on its verified Facebook handle on Thursday, April 18.
The photograph of the former governor was displayed with the inscription ‘WANTED’ in the notice.
The agency said it wanted Bello for offences relating to economic and financial crimes amounting to N80.2 billion and requested anybody with information about his whereabouts to report to the commission or the nearest police station.
Operatives of the EFCC had stormed the Abuja home of Bello on Wednesday, April 17, to arrest him.
The planned arrest was over the alleged sleaze he perpetrated in office.
However, the arrest was unsuccessful, as reports suggest that the Kogi State governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo, smuggled out the former governor. Ododo drove into Bello’s residence Wednesday afternoon while the EFCC surrounded the building.
According to reports, the development forced the commission’s operatives to leave Bello’s residence.
Gunshots allegedly rented the air while the former governor was being smuggled out of the premises by his successor, widely believed to be his kinsman.
This came a few hours after the commission told the Federal High Court in Abuja that it would do everything possible to arrest and prosecute Bello over his money laundering case.
The EFCC said it would execute the arrest warrant issued against the former governor, even if it would involve using the military.
Regarding the fight against fraud and other financial crimes in Nigeria, Olukoyede said banks in Nigeria had lost over N8 billion to internet fraud in 2022.
He said cybercrime affected over 71 per cent of Nigerian businesses in 2022.
He also stated that the anti-graft agency‘s battle against online fraud aimed to preserve the country’s future.
Olukoyede said the commission had established a cybercrime research centre where convicted online scammers – “Yahoo Yahoo boys” in the community – would receive training on how to apply their skills to support society.
A reporter with the ICIR
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