The media office of former Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, has accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of carrying out a political witch-hunt aimed at tarnishing his image.
In a statement signed by the director of the media office, Ohiare Michael on Wednesday, the office alleged that the EFCC was executing a “hatchet job” for unknown political interests, using procedural blunders to embarrass and undermine Bello.
The statement came in response to an earlier release from the EFCC titled “Yahaya Bello Must Have His Day in Court.”
Bello’s media team described the EFCC’s release as a poorly crafted, face-saving measure that further exposes the agency’s bias against the former governor.
The office claims that the EFCC’s actions go beyond fighting corruption and suggest ulterior motives targeting both Kogi State and Bello himself.
“Right now, it seems the only task before the EFCC is to execute a desperate hatchet job of destroying the former governor’s reputation and defaming him for no justifiable reason,” the office said.
Citing events from the previous week when Yahaya Bello voluntarily appeared at the EFCC headquarters but was neither interrogated nor detained, the media office criticised the agency’s subsequent raid on the Kogi Government Lodge.
The statement questioned why the EFCC, if genuinely interested in prosecution, did not act during Bello’s voluntary submission but instead chose to attack the lodge later that night.
The media office also pointed out the inconsistency in the EFCC’s behavior, accusing the agency of turning a money laundering allegation into a national embarrassment for political reasons.
“What exactly does the EFCC want from former Governor Yahaya Bello?” the statement asked, suggesting that the agency’s actions are being dictated by political collaborators.
Bello’s media office reaffirmed that the former governor is ready to face the court but emphasised that this must be done within the rule of law, not under the EFCC’s terms.
The office called on President Bola Tinubu to order a thorough investigation into the EFCC’s conduct in relation to Yahaya Bello, claiming that the agency’s actions have been biased, oppressive, and outside the bounds of legality.
“If the EFCC was truly interested in prosecution and not a deal by some unknown persons to humiliate the former governor and probably harm him for political reasons, would the agency not have taken him in on that day with a view to arraigning him in court on the next adjourned date? Why turn a money laundering allegation into an embarrassment for the whole country ostensibly to massage the ego of some collaborators?
We want Nigerians to help us ask: What exactly does the EFCC want from former Governor Yahaya Bello?
“We call on Mr. President to please order a thorough investigation into the EFCC-former Governor Yahaya Bello face-off, since inception, with a view to unravelling the real motives of the persecutors,” it said.
