By Emmanuel Adeleke
The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has said he will resign if he does not prosecute former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, to a logical conclusion.
Olukoyede spoke during an interactive session with newsmen at the EFCC Headquarters in Jabi, Abuja, on Tuesday.
“If I do not personally oversee the completion of the investigation regarding Yahaya Bello, I will tender my resignation as the EFCC chair,” he said.
He said all those who obstructed the arrest of the former governor would be brought to book.
The EFCC is seeking to arraign Bello on 19 counts bordering on alleged money laundering, breach of trust and misappropriation of funds to the tune of N80.2 billion.
The agency’s chairman said that no matter what anyone does or the amount of attack against the anti-graft agency, he and his men will not relent in helping to sanitise the country.
Olukoyede said the EFCC needs the support of Nigerians to succeed, stressing that if the agency fails, Nigeria fails. He stated that the efforts currently being made has helped the value of the naira and the foreign market.
Meanwhile, the EFCC has served a copy of the charge sheet of the alleged fraud against the immediate past governor on his lawyer, Abdulwahab Mohamed.
This followed an order by Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja, after Bello’s absence in court.
The judge relied on sections 384(4) and (5) of the Administrative and Criminal Justice Act 2015, and directed the counsel to the immediate past governor to receive a copy of the charge.
The court held that where it had become impossible to effect personal service of a legal process on a defendant, such could be done through substituted means.
Justice Nwite further held that it was clear that the former governor failed to appear in court for his arraignment.
