The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has escalated its efforts to apprehend the immediate-past governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, by threatening to employ military intervention to extract him from his purported hiding place.
The commission has been engaged in a game of cat and mouse with the former governor recently, culminating in a failed attempt to arrest him at his Abuja residence on Wednesday.
Sources suggest that Bello may be seeking refuge within the confines of the Kogi State Government House, shielded by the immunity clause provided to Governor Ahmed Ododo under Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
Bello faces allegations of financial mismanagement during his tenure as governor, prompting the EFCC’s relentless pursuit to bring him to justice.
In a courtroom drama on Thursday, the EFCC’s Counsel, Mr Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, asserted the commission’s determination to prosecute Bello, even if it requires the military’s involvement to extract him from his hiding place.
“We may have to engage the military to force him out because immunity does not cover him where he is hiding. No one is above the law. Immunity covers only the governor and not everyone around him.”