Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Olanipekun Olukoyede has said that the embattled past governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, told him to send investigators of the Commission to his village for the purpose of probing him over allegations of money laundering. According to him Bello said this in reply to his request for the former governor to come over to his office in Abuja for interrogations.
Hear Olukoyede, “I didn’t initiate the case against Yahaya Bello; when I assumed office, I inherited the case file and I said there are issues here. Do you know that on my own, on my honour, I put a call across to him, which I am not supposed to ordinarily do. Just to honour him a serving governor. I said, ‘Sir, there are issues. I have seen this case file, Can you just come to clarify these issues?’ And he said, I thank you my brother, but you see I can’t come. There’s one lady, a senator, who has surrounded EFCC with over 100 journalists to embarrass him.
“I said ok if that’s the case, I would pass you through my gate and you will be interrogated on my floor. I will invite the interrogators to my office to interview with you. What could be more honourable than that? ‘But do you know what he said?’ He said, can’t them come to my village? Imagine that’s what he told me.” He further said that he gave Bello the option of using an entrance that is exclusively meant for him as chairman, the narrative changed.
The EFCC bose spoke with the media in Abuja on Tuesday, said he decided to speak personally with Bello to honour him as a former governor.
He said Bello initially gave the excuse that one of his political opponents had sent pressmen to the commission’s head office so as to embarrass him when he arrived there.
Narrating what happened on the day EFCC officials laid siege to Bello’s house in Wuse, Zone 4, Abuja, “As early as 7 am, my men were there. Over 50 of them. They mounted surveillance. We met over 30 armed policemen there. We would have exchanged fire and there would have been casualties. My men were about to move in when the governor of Kogi drove in and they later changed the narrative.” said the anti-graft commission’s chairman.
