“EFCC Chairman Should Resign Now For Reneging On His Promise To Arrest And Prosecute Yahaya Bello”
By Williams Adesoji
A frontline Nigerian social critic and human rights activist, Comrade Igbotako Nowinta has called on the Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ( EFCC), Mr. Ola Olukoyede, to resign his appointment, for reneging on his promise to arrest and prosecute the former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello.
Comrade Igbotako Nowinta, an international conflict resolution expert, who doubles as the Executive Director, Nigerian Good Governance Research Centre, made this searing call via a press release titled:”The Cloud Of Deception: Yahaya Bello Is Not Above The Law”, which he gave to journalists in Abuja on Monday July 8th, 2024.
It would be recalled that the anti-graft agency had named Yahaya Bello in an amended N80 billion money laundering charge filed against Governor Ododo’s Chief of Staff: Ali Bello.
The EFCC Chairman had set himself up for ridicule when he boasted that he would rather resign from his position if he failed to arrest the former governor of Kogi state and bring him to justice.
For many months now, Nigerian people have been waiting and watching; several attempts to arrest and prosecute Yahaya Bello has failed, making many patriotic Nigerians questioning if he is above the law.
According to the full text of the press release:
“Yahaya Bello’s administration for eight years brought unimaginable catastrophic suffering to the people of Kogi state; he was a pinnacle of disgrace and monument of shame to democratic governance in Nigeria”.
“It is seething, scandalous and incomprehensible that in the face of what Yahaya Bello has recklessly done to the people of Kogi state, that the Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ( EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has not been able to move the needle on how to fish out and make him accountable for his alleged gigantic criminal conducts while in office.”
“What is special about Yahaya Bello’s where about that Mr. Ola Olukoyede could not smash to pieces within the geographical landscape of Nigeria, to bring him to justice? The insinuation we are hearing that Bello has probably ran out of the country to North Africa is laughable and insultive to our people. If yahoo boys who are into financial criminalities, and do not have fixed addresses are being located with ease and made to sweat out their nefarious loots, what message is Mr. Ola Olukoyede sending to the sensibilities of Nigerian people?”
“Nigeria Good Governance Research Centre sees cloud of deception in this matter, we see clearly that Yahaya Bello is being shielded by a clan of shameless political rouges who operates from the highest throne of power in our clime, and who are unleashing a vicious wave of repressive governance. What a most daring draconian bid to suppress the yearnings of our people for political accountability, under the nose of President Bola Tinubu’s watch?”
“Certainly Yahaya Bello is not above the law, and the accelerationists of politics of disorder, double dealing tactics against the people they swore to defend constitutionally, are not above the law either. As this tragic scenario plays out disturbingly, if Ola Olukoyede could not fulfill his promise of resigning if he couldn’t arrest Yahaya Bello, we hereby ask him to resign as a man of his words; that is what honorable men do in saner climes?”.
“Never in the history of this stunted giant called Nigeria, have a group of calculating monstrous politicians unleashing tragedy of sadistic proportions on Nigerian people in the name of corruption and misgovernance. These pathological shrinkers of our commonwealth must be stopped by every constitutional means available to us”.
“What we have on our hands is simply a nightmare. Our patience is wearing out, we must fiercely resist this horrible misrule; we must convoke massive resistance, to fuel the fury of our people. We challenge Ola Olukoyede to resign now or bring Yahaya Bello to speedy trial”