N110.4 billion Fraud: We continue to face public harassment over Bello’s delayed case – EFCC

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has opened up, saying it has been facing harasment and public ridicule over the former Government of Kogi State’s looting of the State which has been delayed in court.

Ex-Governor Yahaya Adoza Bello is standing trial of the alleged money laundering and stealing to the tune of N110.4 billion. He was facing prosecution by the EFCC since he left office in January, 2024 and the case has been delayed and foot-dragged in Courts.

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The anti-graft agency in a statement by its Spokesman, Dele Oyewole in Abuja, said the criticism and harassment targeted at it over the stalled high-profile cases, especially the former governor of Kogi State was unnecessary, stating the case has moved to the Court and no longer within its reach to determine the pace of prosecution.

The EFCC Spokesman, speaking at a joint press conference organized by the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, in Abuja, bringing together public relations officers from military, security, and law enforcement agencies, responded to concerns raised by participants over delayed cases of some elements being prosecuted by the EFCC.

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Oyewale said: “The commission’s mandate is restricted to investigation and prosecution, leaving final adjudication exclusively within the jurisdiction of the courts.

“The EFCC as an anti-corruption agency is not the judiciary,” Oyewale said. “We cannot be the accuser and the judge in our own matter.

“Our mandate allows us to investigate, to prosecute, to prevent, but our mandate does not allow us to adjudicate.

“It is within the mandate and responsibility of the judiciary to decide when a matter is resolved or not”.

Addressing public scrutiny surrounding the former Kogi governor’s proceedings, Oyewale noted that the commission maintains a 98 percent prosecution success rate globally and should not be held accountable for judicial scheduling or procedural complexities inherent to financial crime trials.

“The issue of Yahaya Bello is always there. They continually harass us about Yahaya Bello. And we’ve charged the matter to court; the matter is in two different courts. We are going to court, and we wait for the judiciary to decide the matter,” he added.

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