Abuja – The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has filed fresh charges against Yahaya Bello, the former governor of Kogi State, accusing him of involvement in a N110 billion fraud scheme. This follows an earlier case where Bello, along with his nephew Ali Bello and associates Dauda Suliman and Abdulsalam Hudu, faced 19 charges related to money laundering offenses totaling over N80 billion.
In the new charges filed on September 25, the EFCC has expanded the case, now accusing Bello, Umar Oricha, and Abdulsalami Hudu of laundering a total of N110,446,470,089. The trio are listed as the first, second, and third defendants in the case, and are alleged to have committed criminal breach of trust by misappropriating funds entrusted to them from the Kogi State treasury.
According to the EFCC, the former governor and his associates used the funds to purchase 12 properties across different locations in Abuja, including:
- A property valued at N950 million located at No: 35 Danube Street, Maitama District, Abuja
- A property valued at N100 million at No: 1160 Cadastral Zone C03, Gwarimpa II District, Abuja
- A property worth N920 million at No: 2 Justice Chukwudifu Oputa Street, Asokoro, Abuja
- A N170 million property on Block D Manzini Street, Wuse Zone 4, Abuja
- A property in Guzape District, Abuja, bought for N100 million in 2018
- A property valued at N550 million at No: 2934A Cadastral Zone A06, Maitama District, Abuja in 2020
The EFCC further alleged that the defendants sent large sums of money to overseas accounts, including $570,330 and $556,265 to a bank account in the United States.
The charges against Bello and his co-defendants include violating Section 311 of the Penal Code Law Cap.89, Laws of Northern Nigeria, 1963, which pertains to criminal breach of trust, punishable under Section 312 of the same law.
The commission continues its investigation into the case, asserting that Bello and his associates misused their control over the state’s treasury for personal enrichment. These new charges deepen the ongoing legal battle, which has attracted significant public attention due to the scale of the alleged corruption and its impact on the state’s resources.
