Alleged N10bn Fraud: Arrest, Arraignment Of Gov Bello’s Nephew, A Political Witch-hunt – Group
By Abdullahi Ahmad Bamalli
A group known as the Kogi Development Collective (KDC) has described the arrest and subsequent arraignment of a nephew to Kogi State governor, Mr. Ali Bello, as a political witch-hunt taken too far by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Bello was on Thursday alongside one Dauda Sulaimen ordered by a Federal High Court in Abuja to be remanded after the EFCC charged them for money laundering to the tune of N10 Billion.
Operatives of the EFCC accused the duo of illegally withdrawing the sum of N10bn from the coffers of the Kogi State government.
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But, reacting to the development in a statement issued by the KDC Coordinator, Mr. Usman Austin Omale, on Friday, the group alleged that the action of the EFCC was consistent with plans by some elements within the country to persecute Governor Bello for political reasons.
According to Omale, some shadowy elements whom he accused of being envious of Bello’s rising political profile were allegedly behind the move.
“We received the news of the arrest and subsequent arraignment of Mr. Ali Bello and some other persons by the EFCC with sadness and bewilderment.
“Our sense of sadness is premised on the fact that some elements within the country are hell-bent on dealing with Governor Yahaya Bello whom they see as potent threat to their political interests.
“Ordinarily, no right thinking person will oppose the EFCC from carrying out its assignment but one must also show some concerns when it is discovered that the EFCC has become a veritable tool for political witch-hunt,” Omale said.
He further claimed that the group has continued to observe a deliberate pattern of well-planned systematic approach to deal with Bello since he made a bold attempt to contest the Presidency early in the year as well as championing the youth cause in the country.
The group, therefore, counselled EFCC not to lend itself to the antics of mischief makers who might unwittingly seek to tarnish its image in the eyes of right-thinking Nigerians.
