•The EFCC should operate within the law

If there is anything that the drama between the former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has shown, it is that the war against corruption has descended into a farce. An accused person that had been sensationally declared wanted voluntarily presented himself. Instead of arresting and taking him to court for prosecution, he was allowed to walk away only for operatives of EFCC to raid his house at night amid firing of gunshots, thereby wasting ammunition and causing unnecessary panic around the area. Even if we ignore the injudicious use of human and material resources, the mere optics of letting someone who had been declared wanted stroll out of the office should have bothered any self-respecting institution.

The Yahaya Bello saga started in March when the former governor refused to honour the invitation of the EFCC, citing a subsisting court order. Then it descended into a media war following leakage of EFCC documents concerning the payment of school fees of Bello’s children in Abuja. Thereafter, Bello went underground and was declared wanted. Six months later, he resurfaced at the EFCC office with a large contingent of supporters, including his successor, Usman Ododo. But rather than arrest Bello, EFCC did nothing, suggesting that some other issues are at stake.

First, if we must express serious disapproval of some of Bello’s past actions, behaving as though above the law, we condemn the action of Ododo who is abusing his constitutional immunity to shield his predecessor and benefactor from the law. To wilfully hinder, delay or obstruct law enforcement officers from arresting a criminal suspect anywhere in the world is a serious offence. Ododo cannot continue to act like an errand boy for his predecessor. But the EFCC can also not continue to act like a Gestapo organisation whose operatives take more delight in street brawls than following the due process of the law.

While we subscribe to the notion that the law should be no respecter of persons, we fail to understand why EFCC would allow Bello to leave their office after he had willingly surrendered himself for interrogation. What happened to the 19-count criminal charge against the former governor and his nephew, Ali Bello (currently the Chief of Staff to the incumbent Governor Ododo) as well as Dauda Suleiman and Abdulsalam Hudu? Or the accusation that Bello laundered the sum of N80.2bn belonging to Kogi State?

It is unfortunate that the sensitive public is now finding it increasingly difficult to draw the line between when the EFCC is putting up a dramatic show of authority and when it is engaged in the nitty gritty of the fight against corruption for which it was established. While the frequency of ex-governors’ trials may indicate the prevalence of financial crimes in our society, there is also a suspicion that appearance and drama have overtaken substance and earnestness at the EFCC. In some cases, like that of the former governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, who is now Minister of State for Defence, the commission conveniently allows the matter to fizzle out.

Even in the instant case of Bello, the EFCC is notorious for staging this kind of drama against former governors at the end of which no credible evidence is presented to secure court conviction. We recall the 18 March 2022 drama involving the immediate past Governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano, after performing his last duty – the swearing in of his successor, Chukwuma Soludo. Obiano had been intercepted at the Lagos airport and stopped from travelling to the United States. While in EFCC custody in Abuja, a degrading video of him was leaked on social media. Nothing has been heard about the case since then.

Meanwhile, it is important that incumbent president and governors fully understand the full implications of the loss of immunity at the end of their tenure. It means a total submission to the rule of law. It also means preparedness to defend their records as they re-enter society as ordinary citizens. For that reason, Bello should rise above petty drama and face the law. (THISDAY Editorial)