YAHAYA BELLO: EFCC’S ACTIONS BEST DESCRIBED AS ‘TRIAL BY MISCHIEF’ – EWA OKPO, CONSTITUTIONAL LAWYER

A Constitutional Lawyer, Ewa Okpo, has described the actions of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in the ongoing face-off with the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, as “trial by mischief”.

In an interview on Arise TV’s morning show on Saturday, the legal practitioner specifically stated that it was wrong, in the first instance, for the EFCC to attempt to arrest the former Governor when it was aware of a subsisting restraining order, which had not been vacated as of the time of its action.

He said the whole “drama” was centred around an abuse of court process.

“I think that it is a rather unfortunate narrative for Nigeria, and to summarize the whole of this drama in legal terms would be to just say, look, this is an abuse of the court process.

“Why do I say abuse of court process? To successfully prosecute anybody in Nigeria, in this case, the EFCC is prosecuting Yahaya Bello; there are six categories of laws that you must follow.

“The ground law being the Constitution, administration of Criminal Justice Act, the law that empowers the prosecutor, in this case, EFCC Act; the law that defines the offence and the punishment, in this case, Money Laundering Act; and then the law of the courts with jurisdiction.

”In this case, that would be the Federal High Court Act, Practice Directive and the rest of it that guide proceedings at the Federal High Court, and, of course, the Evidence Act and other ancillary legislations.

”Now what is expected of the EFCC in this instance, where you follow all of these laws put together? They ought to have at first invited the suspect (officially), in the person of Mr Yahaya Bello; when he refuses to honour the invite; EFCC does not even need to get a warrant from the court; it is an administrative power to issue a warrant,” he said.

According to him, in line with all the steps he enumerated, the EFCC failed to follow proper legal procedures in the matter.

”Sadly, you know, they rather attempted to arrest the man when they could not arrest him. Being smart, I must give it to Yahaya Bello; he got his lawyers, and they ran to the court and got an order restraining the EFCC.

”Now you must understand because I think that what the EFCC is trying to do now is what can be described as trial by mischief,” he stated.

Okpo added that court orders restraining law enforcement agencies from harassing or arresting individuals should be respected and emphasized that such orders do not restrain the courts themselves.

He condemned the EFCC’s disregard for the court orders and stressed the need for accountability within law enforcement agencies.

Okpo also commended the court’s intervention, stressing that it served as a crucial check on the actions of law enforcement agencies and promotes adherence to the rule of law.

“Now, the EFCC is the watchdog. We need the EFCC to function in Nigeria. But in the course of them being the watchdog, who watches them? And so when there is an order, EFCC, you cannot correct wrong by doing wrong.

“Since there was an order restraining the EFCC, they had no business attempting to arrest Mr. Yahaya Bello,” he said.

No Amount Of Blackmail Will Make HE Yahaya Bello ‘Come Through Backdoor’- Media Office

On Tuesday, 23rd April 2024, Mr. Olanipekun Olukoyede, in a conduct which we view as unbecoming of a Legal Practitioner, organised a press conference where he alleged (amongst other outrightly defamatory statements) that His Excellency, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, withdrew cash from the Kogi State Government Account, sent same to Bureau De Change Operators and then used same to pay the school fees of his children in advance.

According to Olukoyede, the payment was made just about the time the former Governor was to leave office.

Since the said press conference, receipts of payments of the said fees bearing the names of His Excellency’s Children and those of other family members, who separately paid their fees, have been flying all over the internet.

While we reserve our rights to seek redress against the said defamatory statements, permit us to briefly state the following for the purpose of setting the records straight:

1. His Excellency, Yahaya Bello’s children have attended the American International School, Abuja well before he became Governor and he has paid fees for his children as and when due and without fail.

2. His Excellency, Alhaji Yahaya Bello did not pay the sum of USD720,000 as alleged by the EFCC Chairman or USD840,000 as is being bandied about on the internet.

3. The payment of the fees was not effected at about the time his Excellency was to leave office as claimed by Mr. Olukoyede but same commenced in 2021.

3. Alhaji Yahaya Bello DID NOT pay the fees of his Children with monies from the Coffers of the Kogi State Government.

4. When the EFCC approached the American International School Abuja (AISA) to illegally recover funds legitimately paid by Alhaji Yahaya Bello and other family members, a member of the family challenged the EFCC’s unlawful acts to recover funds legitimately paid. The FCT High Court, in Suit No. FCT/HC/2574/2023 between: Mr. Ali Bello v. The Incorporated Trustees of American International School, Abuja, held that AISA could not lawfully and unilaterally refund to a third party, including the EFCC, fees paid by the parties to the suit.

The Court subsequently mandated AISA to continue to provide the services it had been paid with respect to the fees.

From the foregoing, it is clear that no money belonging to Alhaji Yahaya Bello or his family members with regard to school fees has been recovered by the EFCC.

5. Now, let it be known that, contrary to misleading narratives by the EFCC, all the documents published online i.e. receipts and letters, that the EFCC has released online, in furtherance of its unrelenting persecution of the former Governor, are documents filed by lawyers in the suit instituted on behalf of Alhaji Yahaya Bello and others who paid fees for their wards under the Advance Fee Payment Agreement with AISA.
Those documents, having been filed by his lawyers, are thus public documents, which shows that his Excellency, Yahaya Bello, has nothing to hide with regard to the payment of advance fees for his children. This unending harassment and persecution, even while in office, were among key reasons he sought to enforce his fundamental human rights.

6. We state that the payment of these fees and the legitimacy thereof is the subject matter of Charge No. FHC/CR/573/2022, filed by the EFCC since 15th December 2022 at the Federal High Court, Abuja. The Charge is pending and the Court has yet to make any finding or convicted anyone in respect of the said sum.

7. It is imperative to remind Mr. Olukoyede, who is a Lawyer, that once parties have submitted a dispute to the Court, they are to shun all actions and statements that may prejudice the hearing of the matter or the mind of the Court.

8. Since the matter is sub judice, we say no more, we await the EFCC’s proof of the allegations in Court, which is the only venue where the proof of these allegations matter.

9. We thank Nigerians who have recognised the obvious desperation of the EFCC boss to convict the former Governor by all means in the Court of public opinion rather than in the law court, as personal vendetta, with the connivance of like minds, and not a fight against corruption.

10.We implore others who might have been misled by their shenanigans not to be fooled by mischievous narratives but to
follow the case through until justice is served.

11. Finally, our Principal, Yahaya Bello, doesn’t visit law enforcement agencies “through the backdoor”. He has insisted on following due process in line with the rule of law. No amount of blackmail will intimidate him.

Thank you.

Signed
Ohiare Michael
MEDIA OFFICE,
HE YAHAYA BELLO

Ondo APC Primary: Comrade Aiyitoba Emmanuel Sends Congratulatory Message To Gov. Ayedatiwa.

The Executive Administrator of Ilaje Progressive Summit Group( IPSG), Comrade Aiyitoba Emmanuel has sent a congratulatory message to Gov. Ayedatiwa over his victory on the APC’s primary election in Ondo state last week Saturday.

Gov. Lucky Ayedatiwa won the highest number of votes of 48, 569 among the aspirants, and therefore declared the winner by the Governorship Primary Election Committee.

Aiyitoba in his statement said, his group will work and campaign tirelessly for his Excellency, Gov. Ayedatiwa to win in the 16th November, 2024 Governorship election in Ondo State. ” I’m from the same village, Obe-nla kingdom with Gov. Ayedatiwa; he’s our son, uncle, brother and father and we believe he’s capable of bringing development in all ramifications to Ondo State”.

As the IPSG co-ordinator, Comrade Aiyitoba assured that his group will work hands- in- hands and campaign door to door to assure his Excellency’s Victory at Ilaje area and Ondo state as a whole for the November governorship election in the State.