September 24, 2024
By Samuel Ogunsona
The Kogi State House of Assembly is calling for the immediate removal of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, due to his handling of the case against former Governor Alhaji Yahaya Bello.
The legislators condemned the EFCC’s siege on the Kogi State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja, where they attempted to arrest Bello, and accused the commission of trying to assassinate both Bello and incumbent Governor Usman Ododo by allegedly firing gunshots.
The lawmakers argued that the EFCC’s approach in the alleged N80.2 billion fraud case against Bello was humiliating and unprofessional.
They also criticized the commission for disobeying a subsisting court order in the state.
The Speaker of the house, Rt. Hon. Aliyu Umar Yusuf, admonished the EFCC to respect the rule of law and not act in a gestapo manner.
One of the lawmakers, Abu Jibril of Ajaokuta State, who also contributed to the debate said the EFCC chairman should not only be dismissed but also face disciplinary action for attempting murder.
He said the EFCC chairman should be charged for attempting to kill the Executive Governor of Kogi, Ododo.
“The chairman has shown incompetence that warrants his removal,” Jibril said.
Also speaking, Bode Ogunmola, representing Ogori/Magongo State Constituency, argued that the governor’s lodge ought to have been respected by the EFCC operatives.
He said, “If I am in London and there is a crisis if I get to the Nigerian House, I will feel safe. If I am in Abuja and there is a crisis, I believe that if I get to the Kogi Lodge, I will be safe. For the EFCC Chairman to order that fire be opened on the official lodge of the governor, he should be sacked and prosecuted. We should be told why he wants to kill our governor.”
On his part, Yahaya Umar, representing Omala State Constituency, said, “The unlawful conducts of the EFCC show that the intention of the chairman is not to arrest former Governor Yahaya Bello, but to ridicule the state.
“The chronology of how the event happened shows that the problem of the chairman is not with the offences being alleged, but that they want to disgrace the defendant and Kogi State in general.”
The Deputy Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Comfort Egwaba, stated, “The EFCC is just trying to give the former governor a bad name through their media trial. The EFCC is not sincere in this fight. It has an agenda it is pursuing and the entire people of the state, particularly the women and youths, will not accept this.”
The lawmakers calls the attention of President Bola Tinubu on the activities of EFCC stating that the situation is an attempt to assassinate the present and former Governors of Kogi.
