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.

The Ebonyi State Governor, Francis Nwifuru, has suspended the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Moses Ekuma and his Housing and Urban Development counterpart, Francis Ori.

It was gathered that they were suspended on Monday during the State Executive Council meeting in Abakaliki, the state capital.

A statement issued by the Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Jude Okpor, which was sighted by our correspondent on Tuesday morning, read, “Following cases of gross misconduct and dereliction of duties by some government officials and matters related thereto, the Chairman of Council directed the indefinite suspension of the Honourable Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development and three months suspension of the Honourable Commissioner for Health respectively.”

It was also learnt that the development may be connected to the alleged theft of pieces of property belonging to the Ministry of Health by its officials and the reported underperformance of the Housing and Urban Development commissioner and his shoddy handling of the Amaeze Housing Scheme in the Ishielu Local Government Area of the state.

Recall that the governor was in the health ministry’s premises on Saturday night and met a scene where six officials were caught allegedly diverting government materials.

He, therefore, ordered their arrest and eventual prosecution.

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has suspended his Senior Special Assistant on Print Media, Mr Wale Ajetunmobi.

This was disclosed in a statement issued on Tuesday by the governor’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Gboyega Akosile.

The statement was titled, ‘Governor Sanwo-Olu suspends aide.’

Ajetunmobi’s suspension “comes on the heels of the misrepresentation of facts on his personal X account on a past incident,” according to the statement.

Akosile noted that the Sanwo-Olu-led administration “frowns at any form of extra-judicial punishment and will not be a part of any such action. That is not who we are. That is not our way.”

A check by PUNCH Online on Ajetunmobi’s X account, #Riddwane, on Tuesday showed that his timeline was devoid of any such tweet as it had been deleted.

Premium Times, on Sunday, November 24, 2024, reported a tweet by Ajetunmobi, tweeting as #Riddwane, in which he revealed that arsonists who burnt down the Television Continental station in Lagos during the heat of the 2020 #EndSARS protest, had been “hunted down and executed.”

The suspended aide also stated that one of the “executed” arsonists was a young boy (name undisclosed) who traded in cooking gas around the Ketu area of the state.

Ajetunmobi alleged that the boy was found with an AK-47 rifle.

The tweet read, “The full story of people who burnt down TVC in 2020 will be told one day, with gory clips and images. One thing to note: majority of them have been hunted down and executed.

“One of them, a young boy trading in cooking gas around Ketu, was found with an AK-47 at the site. Even his neighbours were shocked. But the full gist is better saved for later.”

Reacting to the tweet, an X user identified as Hamlad, tweeting as #hamoye4real, asked, “Are you in the know of extra-judicial killings?”

In his response, the suspended aide wrote, “Lol… you want to create a narrative in your head. What is extra-judicial killing here? Some of the people were chased by soldiers and an exchange of fire occurred. Then arsonists were overpowered and killed in the process. Others ran away. Is that an extra-judicial killing to you?”

However, in a tweet by Ajetunmobi early Tuesday at 2:34 am — two days after the report, and quoting the Premium Times report on his X handle, he clarified that while the word “executed” was “erroneously used,” his tweet was his “personal opinion” and didn’t reflect the stance of his employer or his office.

He also stated that “no extra-judicial killing was insinuated.”

The tweet read, “This excerpt was quoted out of context and there were series of comments made under the same post, which better explained what was intended. Like I did further explained in the said tweet, no extra-judicial killing was insinuated. The word ‘executed’ was erroneously used and not intended in the context of that casual conversation.

“What was written in the entire conversation reflected personal opinion and not the position of any authority or the entity in which I work. The post and other comments had been taken down, even before this publication.”

In a report by PUNCH Online on October 30, 2020, it was reported that no fewer than 250 staff of TVC at Ikosi, Ketu, Lagos, were unable to work after arsonists burnt the station.

Transmission gadgets, state-of-the-art studios, production rooms and operational vehicles of TVC, including cars of staff, were set ablaze.

The station’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Andrew Hanlon, added that over 500 direct employees of the station had been struggling to work in temporary accommodation put up by the company.

Halon stated these when Governor Sanwo-Olu visited the management and staff of the station.