• CPPM urges Nigerians to help anti-graft agency in arresting ex-gov
• Nothing must happen to Bello: Ebira youths warn
Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) Resource Centre has condemned the evasion of arrest by former Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, amid serious allegations of fraud amounting to over N80 billion, breach of public trust and related offences reported by the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
It also flayed the action of Governor Usman Ododo, his successor, who reportedly shielded him.
In the same vein, the Committee for the Protection of Peoples Mandate (CPPM) has urged Nigerians to help EFCC arrest the former governor to clear his name over alleged fraud.
Meanwhile, Ebiraland Youths Coalition has called on the Federal Government to ensure that nothing happens to Bello while he goes through his ordeal.
HEDA’s condemnation followed reports of Governor Ododo allegedly aiding Bello to evade arrest at his Abuja residence, purportedly under the guise of personal immunity granted to the governor by the Constitution.
Ododo action, HEDA said, is criminal, noting that the constitutional immunity of a governor is not transferable while commending the EFCC for its professionalism in the face of provocation from the governor.
The Chairman, Olanrewaju Suraju, expressed deep concern over Bello’s actions, which undermined the rule of law and set a dangerous precedent. The anti-corruption group emphasised the necessity for all individuals, regardless of their status, to be subject to the rule of law and be held accountable for any alleged wrongdoing.
HEDA called upon the judiciary to carefully consider the issuance of restraining orders that could potentially shield Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) from evading justice. It stressed the importance of transparent and impartial legal processes to ensure that justice is served without undue influence or obstruction.
CPPM condemned Bello’s absconding from the law when EFCC visited his Abuja residence to arrest him concerning investigations over abuse of public office and trust while he was governor.
Executive director of CPPM, Nelson Ekujumi, stated, I’m Lagos, yesterday: “We are traumatised and betrayed by Bello’s conduct as a former custodian of public trust, for being on the run for the simple reason of giving account of his stewardship to the Nigerian people through an agency of state statutorily empowered by law to do so.
“We are quite aware that this allegation of abuse of public trust hung over the head of Bello, even when he was in office, but because he had constitutional immunity from arrest and prosecution, the anti-corruption agency let him be until after his tenure in office to, then, invite him for questioning.
“CPPM has observed lately, Bello’s shameful activities to whip up public sentiments and blackmail against the leadership of EFCC just like he did to the Abdulrasheed Bawa-led EFCC leadership to try to hold him accountable for public trust, but we wish to assure him that this time around, he will fail.”
THE youths in a statement signed by its Coordinator, Mr Fache Moses, alleged that some people in high places conniving with people from Kogi were working tirelessly not only to put the former governor’s life in harm’s way but also to ridicule Ebira people,
They said the simultaneous actions of the Department of State Services (DSS) and the police of withdrawing the ex-governor security detail, not minding the subsisting court order restraining EFCC from arresting him, showed the connivance of powerful people who possibly wanted Bello eliminated by all means.
The statement called on President Bola Tinubu to rise to the occasion and stop the unwarranted harassment of the former governor by EFCC.
