A group, the Committee for the Protection of Peoples Mandate (CPPM), has condemned in strongest terms, the evasion of arrest by former Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State when the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) team visited his Abuja residence recently, describing the conduct on his part as show of shame.
It would be recalled that EFCC was at the Abuja residence of the former governor to effect his arrest over allegation of money laundering amounting to N8.2 billion, while he was still in office, but could not succeed as he was reported to have escaped.
CPPM gave this condemnation on Sunday in a statement issued and signed by its Executive Director, Comrade Nelson Ekujumi, saying that it was “traumatized and betrayed by former Bello’s conduct as a former custodian of public trust, for being on the run for the simple reason of giving account of his stewardship to the Nigerian people through an agency of state statutorily empowered by law to do so.”
The group quickly recalled that the allegation against the former governor was not new, saying that it was since he was in office, “but because he had constitutional immunity from arrest and prosecution, the Anti-corruption agency let him be until after his tenure in office when his immunity cover expired, to then invite him for questioning and subsequent arrest due to his failure to honour the EFCC summons.”
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“CPPM has observed lately, former Governor Yahaya Bello’s shameful activities to whip up public sentiments and blackmail against the present leadership of EFCC, just like he did to the Abdul Rasheed Bawa EFCC leadership for the simple crime of holding him accountable for public trust, but we wish to assure him that this time around, he will fail,” the civil society group said.
It, however, commended the EFCC for remaining focused and committed to its mandate of fighting corruption within the confines of the law, assuring the agency of Nigerians’ solid support.
According to CPPM, Nigerian people are solidly behind the commission and would not succumb to the campaign of blackmail and calumny against it for discharging its functions constitutionally.
CPPM called on Nigerians to support the EFCC in the war against corruption and abuse of public trust by circulating widely the public declaration of former Governor Bello as a wanted man on the run from the law of the land, saying that they should do this as part of their own “contribution to getting him arrested to render account of his stewardship of public office which he is refusing to do, but is absolutely unacceptable and intolerable.”
. TheWitness
