Oshiomhole Explains Why Kogi Gov, Ododo Should Be Condemned Over Yahaya Bello, EFCC Saga
Governor Usman Ododo of Kogi State has been accused by Edo North Senator, Adams Oshiomhole, of using his immunity to protect his predecessor, Yahaya Bello.
Oshiomhole claims that Ododo misused his immunity by obstructing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from apprehending Bello.
Oshiomhole said Ododo’s “rescue” of Bello and the former governor’s refusal to show up in court, constitutes a breach of the law.
The EFCC has alleged that Bello is involved in money laundering and corruption amounting to N80.2 billion. During an ongoing investigation, the anti-graft agency had attempted to arrest Bello at his residence in Abuja.
However, Ododo intervened and prevented the anti-graft agency from taking his former boss into custody.
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EFCC later declared Bello’s whereabouts unknown while placing him on a watchlist.
Amid the drama, the Kogi High Court ruled against the EFCC’s attempt to arrest Bello in a fundamental rights enforcement suit.
Oshiomhole spoke at the ‘Revisiting the national question: Nigeria’s elusive search for national integration’ international conference organised by the Kukah Centre.
He said: “If you are afraid, given the fact that you are very vocal, you are independent, you cannot be dismissed, you cannot be promoted or demoted.
“If you are afraid to mention the name of a former governor who breached the law and a sitting governor who used his immunity to cover a governor that lost immunity, where will the courage come from?
“This sophistry of saying we can name the child of a poor man who steal(s) a goat but we are afraid to mention the name of a big man who breached the law, that for me is at the root of our problems.”
