By EMEKA MADUNAGU

Last Friday, a colleague who sat close to me at the opening ceremony of an event, in Enugu, drew my attention to a post on one of the social media handles of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

It was captioned: ”Alleged N80.2bn Kogi fraud: Witness alleges harassment by Yahaya Bello’s security aides.”

Commenting, my colleague said overzealous security aides usually exposed their principals to undue criticisms with senseless actions, all in the name of protecting them.

I concurred by saying that I had followed court proceedings on the ongoing cases involving ex-Governor Bello at both the Federal Capital Territory High Court and the Federal High Court and saw no reason for such an alleged assault.

We easily believed the story, coming directly from the EFCC’s handle. I had thought I would reach out to one of the former Governor’s media aides to really find out what happened.

But the same witness, Arhyel-Bata, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank Plc, who was said to have been harassed, saved me the trouble.

He refuted the claim right there, in court, in the presence of the EFCC Counsel, Kemi Pinheiro ( SAN), who had reportedly raised the allegation.

“My Lord, I want this to be on record. I wish to clarify the matter raised earlier before the commencement of proceedings.

“I was not harassed by any of the security details attached to the defendant, either today or previously.

“I was not harassed at all, and I felt the need to clarify this, my lord.

“I want this to be in the record of the court that there was no altercation at all,” the witness told Justice Emeka Nwite.

This should ordinarily have earned the prosecution witness a suspension from the case.

The allegation, which was found to be incorrect, was unfortunately celebrated on the EFCC’s handle. It was not just an embarrassment to the Commission but also to the entire country before the international community.

First, it confirmed the troubling comment of the same EFCC counsel, at the previous day’s proceedings, on the nature of the case the EFCC filed against the former Kogi governor.

The counsel had tagged the matter as ‘a political case,’ one involving a former governor who had even aspired to become President.

On the surface of it, it can be deduced from this statement why the former Kogi governor had been a target all along. Whether anyone decides to call it a statement on a lighter note or not, the meaning was clear, considering the hostile stance of the EFCC from the outset of the matter.

It confirmed the 'selective prosecution’ turned alleged persecution resisted by many Civil Society Organisations at the beginning of this Yahaya Bello-EFCC saga, especially when it was discovered that the commission had not vacated an order of court which prevented them from going after him the way they did ab initio.

Other politically exposed persons had the same type of court order issued in their own matters but no one dared to go near them. Why was his own case different? The answer had clearly been provided in court.

However, Justice Emeka Nwite, who knew the import of the “political trial” statement, did not let it slide.

“Political? If that is the case, then those handling political cases should prepare to take over the matter,” his lordship said.

Back to the news of last Friday. The EFCC needs to apologise to, not only the media, but the country as a whole for the misleading report it posted on its website.

An editor of a northern newspaper had said at a media chat I also attended late last year that it was high time the anti-graft agency faced the business for which it was established and stopped sending media reports on court proceedings to editors whose correspondents were also present in court.

He said this with respect to some top bank officials who were charged to court and the narrative allegedly distorted. I now agree with him completely.

On April 14, 2025, a Federal High Court Judge, Justice James Omotosho, had threatened to withdraw from the trial of Ali Bello, a nephew of the former governor and Chief of Staff to the incumbent Governor Ahmed Ododo.

According to media reports, his lordship had warned that he could return the case instituted by the EFCC to the Chief Judge for a reassignment to another judge, if alleged misrepresentation of proceedings by the anti-graft agency continued.

From the accounts of newspapers, not EFCC’s narrative, the same thing played out on Thursday.

Counsel to the defendant, Joseph Daudu (SAN), had also called the attention of the judge to the story on the EFCC’s website, alleging that the commission’s witness was harassed in court by former Governor Bello’s security aides.

He also said the EFCC misrepresented the facts of the previous day’s court proceedings on its website, adding that an application would be filed in respect of the observations at the appropriate time.

Responding, Pinheiro (SAN) said he would call the attention of the EFCC to the matter. But, this won’t solve the problem.

The commission just needs to be more professional and caution overzealous members of its team who appear to be taking this case personally.

The EFCC chairman, Ola Olukoyede, from the accounts of some colleagues who have related with him, one on one, is a noble man, though there are some reservations about how this particular case is being handled.

Olukoyede has a high level of integrity and it is time he called his team to order. There is so much to do in the country beyond this seeming desperation to “damage Yahaya Bello’s image” at all costs!

The EFCC boss needs to put a stop to such alleged misrepresentations forthwith.

•Emeka Madunagu is a cross-platform journalist and public affairs analyst who has edited Saturday Punch, Sunday Telegraph and Daily Times newspapers and is the MD/Editor-in-Chief of Metrostar Newspaper and Metrostar TV.