A Civil Society Organisation, CSO known as Centre for Social and Economic Rights (CSER) has given the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, a 14-day ultimatum to arrest and hand over the former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or present him before court.
This is due to Bello’s alleged diversion of public funds for personal use during his eight-year tenure.
In a press release issued by its executive director Nelson Ekujumi, the CSO stated that if the police fail to comply, legal action will be taken against them for assisting Bello in evading prosecution.
The activists also reminded the IGP of his duty as a board member of the EFCC to support the commission’s performance and deploy human resources as needed.
The CSO demands that the IGP fulfills his obligatory duty as specified in the Nigeria Police Establishment Act 2020 to arrest Bello and hand him over to the court or the EFCC for arraignment.
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The letter states: “We are the Centre for Social and Economic Rights (CSER), an organization advocating for transparency and accountability in Nigeria. We are requesting that you use your resources and expertise to arrest the former Governor of Kogi State, His Excellency, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, and hand him over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for investigation and trial.
The EFCC has obtained a court order for the arrest of the former Governor, and a bench warrant has been issued. Despite this, the former Governor has not been brought to justice due to the actions of your men (policemen) providing him with security.
As members of the EFCC board, your support is crucial for the agency’s performance. We ask, what is the use of your membership if you cannot ensure the arrest of a person declared wanted by the court?
We are giving you 14 days to arrest H.E Yahaya Bello and hand him over to the EFCC or the court. Failure to do so will lead us to seek legal action against you to compel you to fulfill your obligations.”
