Yahaya Bello’s ‘Soft Landing’ Deal With EFCC Takes Unexpected Turn

What was anticipated as a “soft landing” arrangement for the immediate past governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, unravelled dramatically at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) headquarters on Wednesday morning.

Usman Ododo, Bello’s successor, reportedly negotiated a deal with senior officials of the Tinubu administration that would allow the former governor to return state funds traced to him in exchange for a plea bargain.

However, insiders revealed to TheCable that the terms of the negotiation were not fully agreed upon, and the EFCC still intended to charge Bello with offenses, even if they were lesser charges.

Believing he had secured a favorable arrangement, Ododo transported Bello from Lokoja, where the former governor had been in hiding for months, to Abuja on Tuesday.

He accompanied him to the EFCC headquarters the following morning, using his status as a sitting governor to bypass formalities at the entrance.

Upon arrival, Ododo informed Michael Nzekwe, the chief of staff to the EFCC chairman, that Bello was there to honour the commission’s invitation following his departure from office in January 2024.

This visit was supposed to conclude the ongoing saga that had seen Nigerian authorities issue a Red Notice to Interpol for Bello after he was declared wanted.

However, the situation took a turn when Nzekwe informed Ododo that the EFCC chairman, Ola Olukayode, was not in the office and that the commission was unaware of their visit. Nzekwe asked the entourage to leave and promised to reach out when the chairman was available.

As the confusion unfolded, Ohiare Michael, Bello’s aide, issued a statement declaring that the former governor had “honored the EFCC invitation,” further complicating the narrative surrounding the visit.

According to The Cable, sources from both sides provided conflicting accounts of the events that transpired next.

Bello’s associates revealed that the group spent approximately four hours within the EFCC premises before being asked to leave and return at a later date when the chairman would be present.

They argued that the chairman’s personal presence was unnecessary, as the EFCC has established protocols for handling invited individuals.

One of Bello’s associates told TheCable, “You declared a man wanted and he voluntarily submitted himself only for you to turn him back.

“That would suggest that there was something personal about the whole investigation. If you felt too many people came with Bello, all you needed to do was ask for only Bello and his lawyers to be allowed to enter the office.

“The EFCC was not happy he came voluntarily. They would prefer to arrest and handcuff him for a media show. That was why they came back at night to the Kogi governor’s lodge in Asokoro and started shooting. Bello has always believed somebody wants him dead and the shooting confirms his suspicion. They could have killed him.”

After Bello’s entourage left, EFCC issued a statement clarifying that Bello was not in its custody — with reports curiously emerging online that the former governor was actually arrested the previous night by the commission.

The reports turned out not to be true.

An Insider in the anti-graft agency disclosed, “First, there are processes for taking in suspects and interrogating them. There are established protocols. None of this was followed. What the governor tried to do was employ intimidation by using his immunity status to railroad the EFCC into acting his script.

“When Ododo saw that we were not falling for it, he started shouting that they would not leave the EFCC premises. Nobody invited Ododo to the EFCC. It was only Bello that was invited. By intimidating our officials, Ododo thought he could have his way. He probably wanted to be in the interrogation room with his benefactor.”

The thinking in EFCC, as insiders told TheCable, was that only Bello and his lawyers should be allowed in to avoid interference by Ododo and that was why they were asked to leave, although Olukayode was, indeed, not in the office.

They were asked to return with the unspoken instruction that only Bello and his lawyers would gain entrance and they would have to go through the protocol of filling forms and dropping their phones, among others.