There were gunshots at the Abuja residence of former Kogi governor, Yahaya Bello as current state governor, Usman Ododo reportedly smuggled the former out of the premises which were laid siege to by the personnel of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
A security source told SaharaReporters on Wednesday evening that “Ododo, aka Married Woman, escaped with Yahaya Bello,” adding that there was a “serious gun battle in Benghazi Street, Wuse Zone 4 in Abuja”.
SaharaReporters earlier reported that policemen attached to Governor Ododo on Wednesday prevented the EFCC personnel from arresting Yahaya Bello.
SaharaReporters earlier reported that EFCC operatives on Wednesday barricaded Bello’s house in Wuse, Abuja.
Ododo visited the embattled former Kogi governor on Wednesday afternoon with a retinue of security operatives amid the siege at the latter’s Abuja residence.
EFCC sources told SaharaReporters that policemen attached to Governor Ododo prevented the EFCC personnel from arresting the former governor.
According to the sources, there would have been a bloody clash if they had gone head-to-head with the policemen.
“The Inspector General of Police reportedly gave Yahaya Bello more reinforcement through Governor Ododo to thwart his arrest.
“But we’re trying to avoid a bloody clash,” one of the sources said.
SaharaReporters earlier reported that the EFCC was able to track Bello to Abuja by outsmarting him.
It was learnt that Bello deliberately left his mobile phone at the Government House in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital to avoid being tracked to Abuja not knowing that EFCC operatives were already tracking the mobile phone of his aide which he used.
Through his aide’s mobile phone, the former governor was tracked to where he was holed up in Abuja.
“Yahaya Bello left his phone at the Government House in Kogi to avoid being tracked to Abuja.
“But the mobile phone of his aide which he used was already being tracked to where he’s now trapped in Abuja,” a top security source told SaharaReporters.
The EFCC siege came days after the former governor met with President Bola Tinubu at the State House.
On Wednesday, a top source shared a photograph showing how EFCC operatives had barricaded the access road to Bello’s house.
The source said: “EFCC barricades Bello’s house in Abuja. No movement in the area as EFCC barricaded the house. They are yet to gain access.”
Although there was no immediate information available as to the reason why the anti-graft agency stormed the former governor’s residence, the anti-graft agency had filed fraud charges against him.
The EFCC had charged the former governor with financial fraud to the tune of N84 billion.
The EFCC had arraigned Bello’s nephew, Ali Bello, before the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, for alleged money laundering to the tune of N10 billion belonging to the state government.
EFCC, which joined Bello’s nephew Ali Bello, Dauda Sulaiman and Abdulsalam Hudu as co-accused, said it was prosecuting them on an amended 17 counts of money laundering, breach of trust and misappropriation of funds to the tune of N84, 062,406,089.88.
The anti-graft agency claimed in the amended charge that former governor Bello was still at large.
In December 2021, SaharaReporters reported that the EFCC had seized $760,910.84 that Bello paid to American International School, Abuja, as prepaid school fees for four children until graduation, over alleged money laundering.
Documents obtained by SaharaReporters showed that Governor Bello through his nephew, Mr Ali Bello had entered an agreement with the school to pay tuition for his four children up to graduation in advance to secure their future.
The agreement was signed and executed on August 23, 2021. Following the execution of the agreement, a total of $845.852.84 was paid into the school account in varied instalments.
However, the anti-corruption agency as part of its oversight function, subsequently invited the school managers for a series of interviews in connection with the funds through a letter dated September 7, 2023, after about one year.
Sources told SaharaReporters that during the interrogation of officials of the school, the EFCC noted that the advanced school fees were proceeds of crime. It said that the school was being used as an unwitting money laundering tool and demanded that it should refund the monies to the agency through a dedicated account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
