The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has produced the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, before a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory sitting at Maitama for arraignment.

Bello is billed to enter his plea to a 16-count charge ordering on his alleged complicity in a N110billion fraud.

The erstwhile governor’s whereabouts remained unknown till yesterday when he surrendered himself after a protracted hide-and-seek game between him and the anti-graft agency.

Dressed in white caftan and blue cap, was marshalled into the court premises by armed operatives of the EFCC before 9am, for his arraignment.

He will be docked before trial Justice Maryann Anenih, alongside his two co-defendants, Umar Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu.

The charge against the defendants, marked: CR/7781, borders on conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and possession of unlawfully obtained property.

Specifically, the EFCC alleged that the former governor misused state funds to acquire properties, including No. 35 Danube Street, Maitama District, Abuja (N950 million), No. 1160 Cadastral Zone C03, Gwarimpa II District, Abuja (N100 million), and No. 2 Justice Chukwudifu Oputa Street, Asokoro, Abuja (N920 million).

Other properties the defendants allegedly acquired with funds stolen from the Kogi state treasury, included Block D Manzini Street, Wuse Zone 4, Abuja (N170 million), Hotel Apartment Community: Burj Khalifa, Dubai (Five Million, Six Hundred and Ninety-Eight Thousand, Eight Hundred and Eighty-Eight Dirhams), Block 18, Gwelo Street, Wuse Zone 4, Abuja (N60 million), and No. 9 Benghazi Street, Wuse Zone 4, Abuja (N310.4 million).

More so, the defendants were accused of transferring $570,330 and $556,265 to TD Bank, USA, and possessing unlawfully obtained property, including N677.8 million from Bespoque Business Solution Limited.

The federal high court in Abuja has struck out the suit seeking to restrain the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from arresting Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos, at the end of his tenure.

NAN reports that Joyce Abdulmalik, the presiding judge, dismissed the suit after Gbenga Femi Akande, the counsel who appeared for Sanwo-Olu, moved the motion to discontinue the case.

The court struck out the case on October 31.

In October, a lawsuit instituted on behalf of Sanwo-Olu against the EFCC over an alleged plan to arrest and prosecute him after his tenure was heard in court.

Darlington Ozurumba, a lawyer, filed the suit on behalf of the Lagos governor, who will complete his eight-year tenure on May 29, 2027.

In the suit, the lawyer argued that the alleged plan to arrest Sanwo-Olu is “unconstitutional and a flagrant violation of his fundamental right to personal liberty and freedom of movement as stipulated under sections 35(1) & (4) and 41(1) of the constitution”.

The suit sought an order to restrain the EFCC from harassing, intimidating, arresting, detaining, interrogating, or prosecuting Sanwo-Olu in connection with his tenure as the governor of Lagos state.

Reacting to the suit, the Lagos government had said Sanwo-Olu did not instruct anyone to file a case against the EFCC.

Lawal Pedro, the Lagos attorney-general, said the state will investigate “how the case came to be without the knowledge” of the governor.

Pedro said neither the governor nor his aides are under investigation by the EFCC, adding that there is no threat of arrest by the anti-graft agency.

In a counter affidavit, Ufuoma Ezire, a superintendent and litigation secretary in the legal and prosecution department of the antigraft agency, said the EFCC is not investigating the governor and has never threatened to arrest him or his staff.

The anti-graft agency described the legal action as speculative and a “mere conjecture”.

On Tuesday, Hadiza Afegbua, counsel of the EFCC, appeared in court for the case.

However, NAN reports that the lawyer was disappointed that the case was not among the 10 listed for hearing at the court.

The counsel was reported to have expressed surprise when she learnt that the suit had been struck out on October 31.

However, the enrolled order dated October 31 shows that only Akande, the counsel who represented Sanwo-Olu, attended the proceedings leading to the dismissal of the suit.

Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have arrested Yahaya Bello, former governor of Kogi state.

TheCable understands that Usman Ododo, Kogi governor, brought Bello to Abuja this morning and invited EFCC to come pick him up.

The EFCC had charged the former governor with alleged money laundering, breach of trust, and misappropriation of N80.2 billion.

In April, the commission declared Bello wanted after several attempts to arrest him proved unsuccessful.

On August 20, the court of appeal in Abuja ordered Bello to surrender himself for arraignment.

Ola Olukoyede, EFCC chairman, would later allege that Bello withdrew $720,000 from Kogi coffers to pay his child’s school fees in advance.

The anti-graft agency also filed a 19-count charge against Bello over alleged money laundering.

However, the arraignment was stalled due to the absence of the former governor.

In May, Abdulwahab Mohammed, counsel to Bello, told the court that the former governor’s whereabouts remain unknown and that he was nurturing some safety concerns.

On August 20, the court of appeal in Abuja ordered Bello to surrender himself for arraignment.

Dele Oyewale, EFCC spokesperson, had said the court’s ruling was a “vindication” of the EFCC’s stance that Bello must face trial.

Sources had told TheCable that Bello has been hiding in plain sight — holed up in the “protective custody” of the Kogi state government — since he was declared wanted by the EFCC.