The dramatic confrontation that occurred at the Kogi State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja on Wednesday night lasted hours.
The events leading up to the showdown began Wednesday morning when Mr Bello, who was declared wanted by the EFCC in April over a pending N80.2 billion case, was accompanied by Governor Ododo to surrender himself at the anti-graft agency’s headquarters in Abuja.
“This decision was made after due consultations with his family, legal team and political allies,” a statement signed by the Director, Yahaya Bello Media Office, Ohiare Michael, announcing the former governor’s visit to the commission stated on Wednesday.
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“The former governor, who has great respect for the rule of law and constituted authority, had, all the while, only sought the enforcement of his fundamental rights in order to ensure due process.”
Michael Nzekwe, the chief of staff to the EFCC chair, was seen in a photograph discussing with Mr Bello during the visit. He reportedly told Mr Bello that members of the team handling his case were unavailable and that he was free to leave to await EFCC summon later in the day.
From the EFCC office, Mr Bello and Governor Ododo headed to the Kogi Governor’s Lodge, unaware that the EFCC had other plans.
PREMIUM TIMES learned that Mr Ododo contacted Mr Nzekwe early on Wednesday to inform him that he was coming with Mr Bello to his agency’s headquarters.
A source familiar with the matter said that after receiving that notification, the EFCC deployed operatives to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport to arrest Mr Bello, believing he was arriving in Abuja by air.
Surprisingly for the EFCC, even while its operatives were still laying ambush at the airport, Mr Ododo suddenly showed up with Mr Bello at the EFCC headquarters, notifying Mr Nzekwe that he had brought his predecessor to the commission to answer questions pertaining to the ongoing case.
Mr Bello’s arrival at the EFCC headquarters rattled the anti-graft agency, leading Mr Nzekwe to ask Mr Bello and the governor to leave the premises, with a promise to call them when needed, a top EFCC official with insider knowledge of the development but has no approval to discuss the sensitive matter with the press, told PREMIUM TIMES.
A second statement from Mr Bello’s camp on Wednesday said it could not understand why the EFCC failed to “interrogate him as officials told him he could leave”.
“We don’t know what this means yet,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, a few hours after Mr Bello’s first statement disclosing Mr Bello’s visitation to the EFCC was reported by several news outlets on Wednesday, the commission issued a statement denying having the former governor in custody.
EFCC’s spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, said in his two-paragraph statement that the news of Mr Bello surrendering to the EFCC “is incorrect”.
The statement neither confirmed nor denied whether Mr Bello surrendered himself to the EFCC on Wednesday. It added, “The Commission wishes to state that Bello is not in its custody.
But the statement neither confirmed nor denied if Mr Bello visited the commission on Wednesday.
A few hours after Mr Bello’s entourage left the EFCC’s headquarters, Mr Nzekwe called Governor Ododo to enquire about Mr Bello’s whereabouts.
When told that he (Governor Ododo) and Mr Bello were at the Kogi State Governor’s Lodge, Mr Nzekwe, the Chief Security Officer of the EFCC, and a few other senior agency officials moved there to meet Mr Bello.
PREMIUM TIMES learnt that during the meeting, Mr Nzekwe told Mr Bello he was under arrest and that his team had come to pick him up. Witnesses said the former governor refused, saying he could not be humiliated after willingly surrendering himself in the morning but asked to leave. He said he was ready to return again to the EFCC on his own accord.
Our sources said the visiting EFCC officials refused and then stormed out of the premises that afternoon as Mr Bello stood his ground.
EFCC insiders privy to the development told PREMIUM TIMES that since the commission’s Plan A, to arrest Mr Bello at the airport earlier in the day failed, and after Plan B, to lure him out of the governor’s lodge on Wednesday afternoon, also failed, they decided to get the former governor arrested and “disgrace him” at all costs.
“The initial plan was to arrest Yahaya Bello at the airport after Governor Ododo informed the commission that they were coming,” a source said, adding, “Unbeknownst to us, they came via road rather than the airport where our chief security officer had deployed several operatives to effect the former governor’s arrest.”
It was further revealed that when the afternoon meeting ended in a deadlock, with Mr Bello refusing to follow the EFCC delegation led by Mr Olukoyede’s chief of staff, the anti-graft agency activated its Plan C: to arrest the former governor in a Gestapo manner and make a show of it in the media.
The EFCC chair’s chief of staff and the commission’s chief security officer, accompanied by 10 armed operatives, arrived at the governor’s lodge in the evening to execute Mr Bello’s arrest. Although the lodge’s security allowed the senior EFCC officers to enter, they barred the armed operatives from entering. A tense dialogue ensued, with the EFCC requesting Mr Bello’s cooperation, but he refused.
“At about 7 p.m. Wednesday, Mr Nzekwe, the Chief of Staff to the EFCC Chairman, called Yahaya Bello’s team for the second time, to know where he was, and he was informed that the former governor was still at the governor’s lodge. So, the chief of staff, the CSO, some senior EFCC officials and 10 armed EFCC operatives went to the location.
This newspaper learnt that the two sides could not reach an agreement as Mr Bello resisted joining the EFCC team and insisted on being allowed to return to the EFCC on his own.
This was when the EFCC officials at the governor’s lodge called for reinforcements. This brought in an additional 25 EFCC operatives, making 35 armed operatives on the ground to effect the former governor’s arrest. The situation escalated as the EFCC operatives attempted to forcibly enter the lodge, leading to a heavy exchange of gunfire between the EFCC operatives and Mr Bello’s private security details backed by the SSS operatives and police officers securing Governor Ododo.
PREMIUM TIMES learnt that amid the ensuing bedlam, Mr Bello entered Governor Ododo’s car, shielded by other vehicles. The gate of the governor’s lodge was suddenly flung open, and the cars rushed out and sped away, leaving the EFCC operatives stunned and frustrated. As the convoy sped away, the EFCC operatives were said to have fired shots in its direction.
It is unclear if there were damage to any of the vehicles. One source said Governor Ododo’s car was damaged but PREMIUM TIMES has been unable to independently verify that.
The gunshots by the EFCC sides and the security details at the lodge in a largely residential area of Abuja were said to have lasted more than two hours. The development caused residents of the area to panic for hours.
“Governor Ododo, with the aid of his security detail and other armed men at the lodge, drove out with Yahaya Bello during the shootout,” an EFCC source told PREMIUM TIMES.
The EFCC operatives eventually withdrew from the location around 10 p.m., marking the end of the intense standoff.
The incident has sparked controversy, with many questioning the EFCC’s use of force. Mr Bello’s whereabouts remain unknown, and the EFCC has clarified that he is not in its custody.
PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that Wednesday’s development came a week ahead of the return date set by the Federal High Court in Abuja for Mr Bello’s arraignment on charges of N80.2 billion money laundering charges.
At the last hearing in July, the trial judge, Emeka Nwite, adjourned till 25 September after dismissing a request by Mr Bello’s legal team to order a stay of proceedings.
The EFCC charged Mr Bello with 19 counts of money laundering after he completed his second and final term as governor in January.
The commission alleged in the charges that the former governor diverted more than N80 billion from the Kogi State Government’s treasury while in office.
A nephew of the former governor, Ali Bello, is standing trial along with other individuals in a related case also at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
However, since filing the charges against Mr Bello, the commission has not been able to bring him to court for arraignment.
The former governor has been absent from six court sessions scheduled for his arraignment as he intensified legal efforts to stop the trial, including filing processes before the trial judge, the Kogi State High Court, and the Court of Appeal.
At one point, he wrote to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, John Tsoho, to transfer the case to the Lokoja Division of the court. However, the chief judge rejected the request and asked him to present it before the trial judge, Mr Nwite. The trial judge similarly refused the application.
In April, EFCC declared him wanted after a failed attempt to arrest him at his residence in Abuja.
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