Alleged N80.2bn Fraud: Yahaya Bello Will Be Arrested Abroad If Allow to Travel

• The EFCC has explained the immediate past governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello could be arrested outside Nigeria, if allowed to travel abroad
• According to the EFCC lawyer, if the former governor is arrested outside Nigeria, such development would delay his prosecution here in Nigeria
• The EFCC made the claim while kicking against Yahaya Belllo's application asking the court to release his travel document for medical treatment abroad

Yahaya Bello, the immediate past governor of Kogi State, has been described as a flight risk and that he might disappear if granted permission to leave the country. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) made the claim before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday, June 27.

The anti-graft agency, through its lawyer, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), in his argument, explained that the application by the former governor's counsel, Chief Joseph Daudu (SAN) to allow Bello to travel outside the country on a medical trip should not be granted.

Why Bello should be stopped from traveling

According to Leadership, the EFCC lawyer argued that if the application is granted, the former governor could be arrested in the country he had travelled to. According to the EFCC, such development would frustrate the ongoing trial of the former governor before the court.

During the hearing, the EFCC lawyer explained that the witness in the matter, Mshelia Arhyel Bata, who was a compliance officer with the Zenith Bank, was facing harassment and intimidation because of his evidence before the court. He then urged the court to protect the witness.

Responding to the claim, the witness maintained that he only had little altercation with the security outfit of the former governor. During the cross examination of some document, the witness maintained that Yahaya Bello did not benefit from the transactions in the documents before him.

EFCC wants court to determine witness' position

But the EFCC lawyer kicked against the line of evidence that the witness was speaking on, he said:

“It is a money laundering charge, who benefits or not is what the court will decide. The witness is not in a position to determine who benefitted from any transaction. The witness is not an expert of law.”

Yahaya Bello has been confronted with an ₦80bn fraud allegation since leaving the office as the governor of Kogi State. The former governor had earlier had dramatic display with the EFCC when he failed to appear for questioning before the anti-graft agency.

The EFCC had made moves to arrest Bello but he evaded the arrest with the help of his successor, Ahmed Ododo. Following several back and from with the anti-graft agency, the former governor finally surrendered himself for prosecution before now seeking a medical leave abroad.

Bello lost bid to transfer case to Kogi

Legit.ng earlier reported that a former Kogi state governor, Yahaya Bello, has lost his bid to transfer the N80bn fraud case from Abuja to Kogi.

The chief judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, declined Bello's request to transfer the case.

Justice Tsoho drew the attention of Bello’s counsels to a pending appeal in the case: Yahaya Adoza Bello VS FRN.

Source: Legit.ng