The Coalition of United Political Parties, (CUPP), has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to ensure that the case involving the former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello and the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is not mismanaged.
The CUPP said in a statement yesterday that there was no excuse valid enough for committing two errors of judgment by the EFCC on the day the former governor reportedly submitted himself to the Commission.
The statement was signed on behalf of the Coalition by 10 members of its Media, Strategy, Steering, Financial Contact and Mobilisation Committees and made available to newsmen.
Signatories to the statement include Barrister Emeka Igwe, Alhaji Hamisu Santuraki, Prince Frank Ukonga, Prof. Godswill Nnaji, Alhaji Takai Adamu, Amb. Abah Lewis, Chief Abayomi Runsewe, Mrs. Grace Ishaku, Mrs. Gift Yusuf and Mayor Japhet Anyanwu.
The CUPP statement reads: “It is with utmost disappointment that the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), has viewed the ongoing drama between EFCC and the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello.
“We are aware that there has been some inexplicable back-and-forth between the EFCC and the former Governor for some months now, which has generated considerable public interest across Nigeria.
“Not a few Nigerians have been eager to see the day that the former Governor would be brought in to defend the allegations of humongous corruption allegations leveled against him by the anti graft agency.
“The Commission went all out to declare him wanted and put him on an international watchlist with the assistance of the INTERPOL that anywhere he was found he was to be promptly arrested.
“It is quite intriguing that the same man you have been hunting for, walked into your headquarters in Abuja and you let him walk away without as much as interrogating him under the pretext of some extremely ridiculous and flimsy excuses, one of which was that he came with a sitting Governor among others. That is why we are calling on the oresi5to ensure that this issue is not mismanaged,” the statement said.
The statement said further, “A smart and intelligent head of a security agency like the EFCC would have tactically taken the former Governor into custody without much ado.
“If you couldn’t arrest the former Governor in the presence of his predecessor, why send armed operatives to the official abode of the same sitting Governor to start shooting in the middle of the night under the guise of you wanting to effect the arrest of someone who had earlier made himself available to you. That incident could have ended fatally with serious consequences for our democracy. It would have overheated the polity beyond control.
“There is no excuse valid enough in the world for committing those two errors of judgment by the EFCC. First, you let the man you declared wanted get away from your premises under a very suspicious gameplan.
“Secondly, you later mobilized at night to go and effect the arrest of the same man. EFCC needs to come out and tell Nigerians what they are hiding and their real interest and intentions on this matter.
“Everything looks suspect in this matter. It is in this regard that we sincerely feel that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should not mismanage this issue.
