•By Kunle Aremu
The outgoing governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki spoke about how he will spend his time at Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s custody as soon as he ends his tenure in about three days.
He has his ears on the ground about the plan by the anti graft agency to arrest him and it seems he is prepared to answer questions on some alleged financial scams.
His crimes have not become a public discussion but there is a former governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello whose alleged financial crimes could be used for a doctoral research.
Bello has created for himself a history of money laundering by his drama and numerous court cases to kill the various allegations against him by the EFCC. It seems he is enjoying this fame.
Bello, knowingly or unintentionally has exposed himself more to the media , judicial and public scrutiny by his approach to issues. He is trying to play smart but advertently damaging his reputation the more if at he has any.
His public rating is falling by the day as he struggles to quench the myriads of allegations against his government, using both the conventional and unconventional approaches.
His cases have dominated every level of our courts, every manner of the media and it had since become a subject in the market place. Everywhere, Bello is being discussed and a simple Google search on Kogi will pops up Yahaya Bello and of course his history of financial misappropriation.
May we not be popular for a bad reason. A few days ago, the social media platforms were agog with Equatorial Guinea because of a sexmania, the Director General of the country’s National Financial Investigation Agency, Baltalsa Engonga who engaged in sexual escapades with over 400 ladies, including notable ones.
Engonga’s sexual activities quickly popularised one of the tiniest countries in Africa but for a bad reason. The internet trolls beamed their searchlight towards the equator and in between the latitude and the longitude were holes of sexual immorality.
Today, there is another governor in Kogi, Usman Ododo, who is working silently to develop the state but the stories of his predecessor, Bello, is dominating what Usman is doing right now.
Not that there is no meaningful project that Bello had also done in his eight years, his history of money laundering as alleged by EFCC is overwhelming governance in Kogi and a few good projects that he did during his tenure.
Let us take a look at his N80.2bn money laundering. This is a case that has to do with his children’s school and how he had allegedly paid the wards tuition from the state government purse.
It is stinking; the governor was alleged to have even paid the fees upfront, using his brother,Alli Bello, to front for his financial mess.
On October 30, 2024 EFCC asked Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja, to proceed with the trial of Bello in absentia, arguing that his non-appearance in court for arraignment should not be allowed to frustrate his trial.
The EFCC through its lead counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, also urged the court to enter a plea of “not guilty” on behalf of Bello.
Bello is facing trial on 19-count charges bordering on money laundering to the tune of N80.2billion. The court had summoned him for arraignment six consecutive times.
Pinheiro told the court that the former governor’s refusal to appear for his arraignment was malicious and that the court should not demonstrate helplessness by not trying him in absentia.
“A court can never demonstrate helplessness. That would be an indication of anarchy and society is based on the rule of law. The court demonstrating helplessness will negate the basis of the rule of law,” he said.
Arguing further, the EFCC’s counsel reminded the court that a defendant’s refusal to engage the court’s processes should not frustrate his trial, maintaining that justice is a three-way mechanism.
“A criminal trial must not be held hostage, truncated or frustrated by a defendant’s refusal to engage the process. Justice is a three-way street: justice to the defendant, justice to the prosecution who has assembled witnesses and justice to the society”.
Earlier in his submissions, he urged the court to enter a not guilty plea for Bello to pave the way for his trial contending that under Section 276 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, a defendant’s physical presence in court is not an absolute requirement for arraignment. “The right to plead guilty or not guilty is a right that can be waived by the defendant,” adding that Bello’s absence should not impede the case.
“My first application is to formally enter a plea of not guilty to the defendant, even in his absence. The second point is, notwithstanding his physical absence, trial can proceed. What prejudice will the defendant suffer if my lord enters a plea of guilty or not guilty in his absence? Even if he was in court and pleaded not guilty, the situation would still be the same. The entry of a plea of not guilty by your lordship is an invitation to the prosecution to come and prove the veracity of the allegations”, he said.
In response, counsel for the defendant, Michael Adoyi, opposed the prosecution’s motion, citing a previous court order requiring the defendant’s presence before any applications could be entertained. He emphasized that the application was contrary to the court’s directive issued earlier. “Our first point of response to the application made by the learned senior counsel to the complainant is that the application is made contrary to the subsisting order of this honourable court, even made this morning, that no application can be entertained by this court in the absence of the arraignment of the defendant,” he said.
Pinheiro rebutted Adoyi’s argument, urging the court to reject the defence’s position and proceed with the plea entry, assuring that it would not infringe on the defendant’s rights or affect the trial’s fairness.
Justice Nwite, after listening to both parties, noted that a ruling on the matter may not be possible within the current year due to court schedules. “It may not be possible to deliver this ruling this year. Pinheiro proposed that the matter be adjourned for ruling and arraignment, which Justice Nwite granted, adjourning the case until January 21, 2025.
Bello is gradually turning himself to a case study, now that his prosecution will last till next year and yet no pronouncement soon.
We must also remember his case before a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja, which borders on criminal breach of trust to the tune of N110.4 billion.
This is contrary to Sections 96 and 311 of Penal Code Law Cap.89 Laws of Northern Nigeria, 1963 and punishable under Section 312 of same law.
The former governor is to face this fresh 16-count charge alongside two officials of the Kogi State government — Abdulsalami Hudu and Umar Oricha.
The defendants were alleged to have used state funds from the Kogi state treasury to acquire properties in highbrow areas within the FCT and in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The charges
IN COUNT ONE of the charge alleges that Bello, Oricha and Hudu, sometime in 2016 in Abuja, agreed amongst themselves “to cause to be done an illegal act to wit: criminal breach of trust in respect of the total sum of N110,446, 470, 089.00 (One Hundred and Ten Billion, Four Hundred and Forty six Million, Four Hundred and Seventy Thousand, Eighty Nine Naira)
In COUNT TWO, the defendants were said to have used the total sum of N950 million in 2023, “for the acquisition of a property known as No: 35 Danube Street, Maitama District, Abuja”
COUNT THREE, they accused the defendants of using N100 million “for the acquisition of a property known as No: 1160 Cadastral Zone CO3, Gwarimpa
In COUNT FOUR, they were accused of using N920 million “for the acquisition of a property known as No: 2 Justice Chukwudifu Oputa Street, Asokoro, Abuja” in 2020.
In COUNT FIVE, the defendants allegedly used N170 million “for the acquisition of a property known as Block D Manzini Street, Wuse Zone 4, Abuja” in 2022.
In COUNT SIX, they allegedly used N100 million to purchase a property known as No: 1773 Guzape District, Abuja in 2018.
In count seven, they allegedly used another N100 million “for the acquisition of a property known as No: A02/176 Block 488B, Lome Street, Wuse 1, Abuja” in 2020.
In COUNT EIGHT, they were said to have in 2020, used N66 million “for the acquisition of a property known as No: 739 Aminu Kano Crescent, Wuse 2 at No. 13 Citiscape-Sharriff Plaza, Abuja”.
In COUNT NINE, It was alleged that the trio used N550 million for the acquisition of a property known as No: 2934 A Cadastral Zone A06 also known as No.1 Ikogosi Spring Close, Maitama District, Abuja”, in 2020.
In COUNT TEN, they were said to have used N650 million to purchase a property known as No: 1058, Measuring 1450.77 sqm in Cadastral Zone A08, Wuse 2 also Known as NO.2 Durban Street Abuja, in 2021.
In COUNT ELEVEN, the accused persons were said to have used 5,698,888 Dirhams in 2022 “for the acquisition of a property located at Hotel Apartment Community: Burj Khalifa, lying, being and situated at Plot 160, Municipality NO 345-7562, Sky View Building No.401, Floor4, Dubai U.A. E.”
In COUNT TWELVE, the defendants were accused of using N60 million for the acquisition of a property known as Block 18 (337) flat B Gwelo street, Wuse Zone 4,
Abuja in 2016.
In COUNT THIRTEEN, the defendants were alleged to have “dishonestly used the total sum of N310,443,450.00 to renovate a property known as No: 9 Benghazi Street, Wuse Zone 4, Abuja” in 2017.
In COUNT FOURTEEN, alleges that the defendants “dishonestly sent the total sum of $570,330.00 to account No. 4266644272 Domiciled with TD Bank, United States of America” in 2021.
In COUNT FIFTEEN, they were also alleged to have “sent the total sum of $556,265.00 to account No. 4266644272 domiciled with TD Bank, United States of America”, in 2021.
In COUNT SIXTEEN, Bello alone was alleged to have had under his control, “the total sum of N677, 848,000 unlawfully obtained from Bespoque Business Solutions Limited” sometime between 2017 and 2018, in Abuja.
•Kunle Aremu is a seasoned journalist and columnist.
