Ex-Gov Bello pleads not guilty to 16-count charge
Alhaji Yahaya Bello, the former governor of Kogi State, entered a not guilty plea on Wednesday to a 16-count indictment brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, or EFCC. Bello and two other defendants, Umar Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu, were docked before trial judge Maryann Anenih of a Federal Capital Territory High Court located in Maitama.
The defendants were charged with participating in a fraud of N110 billion. The former governor’s whereabouts were unknown until yesterday, when he turned himself up following a lengthy game of hide-and-seek with the anti-graft agency.
Around 9:45 a.m., Bello, wearing a blue cap and white caftan, mounted the pier.
The defendants are charged with conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, and possession (CR/7781) of unlawfully obtained property.
Specifically, the EFCC alleged that the former governor misused state funds to acquire properties, including No. 35 Danube Street, Maitama District, Abuja (N950 million), No. 1160 Cadastral Zone C03, Gwarimpa II District, Abuja (N100 million), and No. 2 Justice Chukwudifu Oputa Street, Asokoro, Abuja (N920 million).
Other properties the defendants allegedly acquired with funds stolen from the Kogi state treasury, included Block D Manzini Street, Wuse Zone 4, Abuja (N170 million), Hotel Apartment Community: Burj Khalifa, Dubai (Five Million, Six Hundred and Ninety-Eight Thousand, Eight Hundred and Eighty-Eight Dirhams), Block 18, Gwelo Street, Wuse Zone 4, Abuja (N60 million), and No. 9 Benghazi Street, Wuse Zone 4, Abuja (N310.4 million).
More so, the defendants were accused of transferring $570,330 and $556,265 to TD Bank, USA, and possessing unlawfully obtained property, including N677.8 million from Bespoque Business Solution Limited.
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