Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has accused Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of deleting her comment on their Facebook post concerning the N84 billion money laundering case involving former Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State.
SaharaReporters reported on Thursday that the EFCC had dragged the former Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja for alleged N84 billion money laundering.
EFCC, which joined Bello’s nephew Ali Bello, Dauda Sulaiman and Abdulsalam Hudu as co-accused, said it was prosecuting them on 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 had claimed in the amended charge that former Governor Bello was still at large.
Count one of the charges reads:
“That you, Ali Bello, Dauda Suleiman, Yahaya Adoza Bello (still at large) and Abdulsalam Hudu (still at large), sometime in September 2015 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, conspired amongst yourselves to convert the total sum of N80,246,470,089.88 (Eighty Billion, Two Hundred and Forty-six Million, Four Hundred and Seventy Thousand, Eighty-nine Naira, Eighty-eight Kobo), which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of the proceeds of your unlawful activity to wit: criminal breach of trust and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(b) and punishable under Section 15(3) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 as amended,” the EFCC said in a release sent to SaharaReporters.
“While ex-Governor Yahaya Bello and Hudu are still at large, Ali Bello and Suleiman, first and second defendants respectively, who were present in court ‘pleaded not guilty’ to all the charges when they were read to them,” it added.
But reacting to the statement which EFCC had also posted on its Facebook page, Akpoti-Uduaghan, the Senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial district, said the agency would find Bello at No. 1 Dala Hills Street, off Agulu Lake Street, Maitama, Abuja.
It was learnt that shortly after she posted the comment, the EFCC deleted her post.
However, she reposted it on its X handle, questioning why her reaction on the agency’s Facebook page was deleted.
Akpoti-Uduaghan wrote: “Dear @officialEFCC why did you delete this post on Facebook after I commented and requested that you kindly help find my favourite storybook “The Defeated White Lion” at No. 1 Dala Hills street, off Agulu Lake street, Maitama , Abuja.
