The media office of a former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, has refuted claims that the former governor used the state funds to pay his children’s school fees.
The statement comes after the conference held on Tuesday by the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede.
Olukoyede had alleged that Bello withdrew money from the Kogi State Government Account, exchanged it through Bureau De Change operators, and used the funds to pay his children’s school fees in advance before leaving office.
However, in a statement made available to PUNCH Online on Friday, Bello’s media office denied Olukoyede’s claims, stating, “His Excellency, Alhaji Yahaya Bello did not pay the sum of USD720,000 as alleged by the EFCC Chairman or USD840,000 as is being bandied about on the internet.”
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“Alhaji Yahaya Bello did not pay the fees of his children with monies from the coffers of the Kogi State Government,” the statement said.
Regarding EFCC’s involvement, the statement revealed that a family member challenged the EFCC’s attempt to recover the legitimately paid fees.
It said the FCT High Court ruled in favour of the family member, stating that the American International School could not unilaterally refund the fees to a third party, including the EFCC.
“From the foregoing, it is clear that no money belonging to Alhaji Yahaya Bello or his family members with regard to school fees has been recovered by the EFCC,” the statement affirmed.
The media office further accused the EFCC chairman of pursuing a personal vendetta against Bello, attempting to convict him in the court of public opinion rather than through due legal process.
“We implore others who might have been misled by their shenanigans not to be fooled by mischievous narratives but to follow the case through until justice is served,” the statement added.
Addressing Olukoyede’s conduct, the statement said that the legal principle of sub judice prohibits actions or statements that may prejudice a pending court case.
“Since the matter is sub judice, we say no more, we await the EFCC’s proof of the allegations in Court, which is the only venue where the proof of these allegations matters,” the statement added.
According to the statement, Bello will not be intimidated by blackmail and insists on following due process in line with the rule of law.
“Finally, our principal, Yahaya Bello, doesn’t visit law enforcement agencies ‘through the backdoor’. He has insisted on following due process in line with the rule of law. No amount of blackmail will intimidate him,” the statement concluded.
