By Uzair Adam
The Federal Government has filed a fresh 16-count charge against Yahaya Bello, the former governor of Kogi State.
The charges, submitted on Wednesday at a Federal High Court in Abuja, allege a criminal breach of trust amounting to N110,446,470,089, in violation of sections 96 and 311 of the Penal Code Law Cap. 89 Laws of Northern Nigeria, 1963.
The offense is punishable under Section 312 of the same law.Bello, who was previously facing a 19-count charge by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), is now charged alongside two other Kogi State government officials, Abdulsalami Hudu and Umar Oricha.
The charge sheet reveals that the trio allegedly misappropriated funds from the Kogi State treasury to acquire properties in Abuja and Dubai.
One of the charges accuses the defendants of conspiring to commit a criminal breach of trust in 2016 in Abuja involving N110.4 billion.
Other charges include allegations that they used N950 million in 2023 to acquire a property at 35 Danube Street, Maitama, Abuja, and N100 million in 2021 to purchase another property in Gwarimpa I District, Abuja.
Additional charges state that N920 million was used in 2020 for a property in Asokoro, Abuja, while another N170 million was used to acquire property in Wuse Zone 4 in 2022.
Properties in Guzape District and Lome Street, Abuja, were allegedly purchased for N100 million each in 2018 and 2020, respectively.
Other acquisitions in Wuse 2, Maitama District, and Dubai were reportedly worth hundreds of millions.
One count also claims that the defendants spent over N310 million in 2017 to renovate a property in Wuse Zone 4.
Furthermore, two charges allege they transferred over $1 million to a TD Bank account in the United States in 2021.The EFCC first declared Bello wanted on April 18, 2024, over allegations of money laundering and misappropriation amounting to N80.2 billion.
Despite several attempts to apprehend him, Bello has managed to avoid arrest.In August 2024, the Court of Appeal in Abuja ordered Bello to surrender for arraignment.
However, reports suggest that the former governor has been in “protective custody” of the Kogi State government.
Bello’s media office recently claimed he visited the EFCC headquarters in September, but the anti-graft agency denied this, reaffirming that the former governor remains a wanted man.