A former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, has been summoned by the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja to face charges of criminal breach of trust and possession of unlawfully acquired property.
The summons, issued by Justice Maryann E. Anenih on October 3, was disclosed in a post shared by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on social media.
The court documents allege that Bello committed these offences between 2016 and 2023, violating Sections 311 and 319A of the Penal Code Law. These sections pertain to criminal breach of trust and the possession of property suspected to be obtained through illicit means. Bello is scheduled to appear in court on November 14, 2024, at High Court No. 3 in Maitama, Abuja.
The EFCC had previously declared the former governor wanted and recently filed new charges against him, increasing the alleged money laundering amount from N80 billion to over N110 billion. Bello, along with his nephew Ali Bello and others, had already been facing 19 charges of money laundering, but the updated charges filed on September 25 raised the financial scope of the alleged offences.
READ ALSO : Court summons Yahaya Bello over N110bn fraud
Bello’s legal troubles deepened after an unsuccessful attempt by the EFCC to arrest him in September. His earlier visit to the EFCC headquarters, accompanied by the current governor of Kogi State, Usman Ododo, sparked public debate, with the EFCC later suggesting it was more of a publicity stunt than a genuine effort to comply with the law.
Wilson Uwujaren, EFCC’s Director of Public Affairs, commented on the situation during an interview with Arise TV, emphasizing that Bello’s visit on September 18 did little to advance the case against him.
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