₦airaland Forum

Returning the Nation to Its Roots: The Debate Over Nigeria's National Anthem By Abisayo Busari-Akinnadeju

The phrase "returning the nation to the mothers" belongs to Mr. Farouq, an active participant on our #IAMANIGERIAN nation-building platform.

The debate over the new National Anthem has persisted for days, with many torn between accepting the change, considering the current state of the country, especially over the past year, and the aftermath of subsidy removal, among other challenges.

The reintroduction of the 1959 National Anthem was met with many criticisms, primarily for the rushed process accompanying the passage of the bill and the subsequent presidential assent. While some viewed the change as a political maneuver to divert attention from criticizing the government on the eve of their one year in office, others saw it as a positive step, possibly marking the beginning of a new Nigeria.

It's crucial to emphasize that a nation's anthem is not a trivial matter, and Nigerians should not take this symbolic move lightly. An anthem, originally from the word "antefn," according to Vocabulary.com, signifies a song by multiple persons, now representing a rousing or reverential song expressing allegiance or embodying the ideals of a people or nation.

Most nations have recitals that symbolize their allegiance; for instance, "God Save the Queen" or "God Save the King" for the United Kingdom, with variations for Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Britain. Nations at some point consider a variation of their anthem for example. Australia recently changed a line in their anthem to represent the reality of not being a young country anymore, “For we are one and free” replaced “For we are young and free”. more inclusive system, These songs stir national spirit. Nigeria, post-October 1st independence, has had a National Anthem enshrined in the Constitution, reflecting some of our national values. The 2024 anthem echoes the one used at independence, while the 1978 version was composed during General Obasanjo's regime.

1959/2024 NIGERIA NATIONAL ANTHEM

The 1959 lyrics, composed by Lillian Jean Williams, with music by Ms. Berda, were selected from over 500 entries, and adopted in 1960 during Nigerian independence celebrations. Criticisms against the anthem included the fact that the lines were not submitted by Nigerians and that the winners were women.

The 1978 National Anthem, composed by the Police band under Pa Benedict Odiase, also deserves mention. Sadly, the writers, John, A Ilechukwu, Eme Etim Akpan, B. A Ogunnaike, Sota Omoigui and P.O Aderibigbe still deserves to be honoured nationally. Their entries that won were not properly acknowledged by the nation, nor were promises of recognition fulfilled. The nation should consider this and posthumously to those who had passed on. Honouring them in 2018 was a mark of respect to highlight that patriotic contributions matter.

While it may seem coincidental, Nigeria has seen economic and patriotic decline since around 1979. The demand for the return of the "good old days" alongside the reintroduced National Anthem as a condition for accepting the new anthem suggests that focus is on the economic benefits from the nation as opposed to the intrinsic fabric that builds a society value system. However, love for the nation can inspire change. For example, having leaders with the vision of leaving a better nation for our children can influence decisions, reduce corruption, and encourage nation building activities.

I believe the return to the old anthem aims to reignite lost passion while working to reposition the country. It's part of several changes to come. Perhaps it signals a shift towards gender-blind leadership, focusing on dedication and vision rather than gender or political affiliation.

While it may take time to adapt to the new anthem, its lines should remind us of the need for reflection and consideration of our nation's direction. Let's embrace it and return the nation to those who genuinely care, bridging our differences for a better future, enjoyed both at home and abroad.

Nigeria, we hail thee,
Our own dear native land.
Though tribes and tongues may differ,
In brotherhood, we stand.
Nigerians all, proud to serve
Our sovereign Motherland.

Our flag shall be a symbol
That truth and justice reign.
In peace or battle, honored,
This, we count as gain,
To hand on to our children
A banner without stain.

O God of creation,
Grant this, our one request:
Help us to build a nation
Where no one is oppressed.
And so, with peace and plenty,
May Nigeria be blessed.

Let's build a nation where no one is oppressed, with plenty for all. God bless Nigeria and my readers.

Abisayo Busari-Akinnadeju
@QueenofCountryNg
@Beeseryor

Yahaya Bello: Ignore sponsored calls by anarchists, focus on rule of law, Activists advise EFCC


Again, scores of activists hit the streets of Lagos on Saturday demanding an end to what they described as the mischievous use of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission platform to malign perceived enemies by opposition forces.

The activists, who frowned at the consistent call for anarchy in a democratic setting by those that their investigations had established to be working for known opposition figures in Kogi State, called on the EFCC to ignore the "sponsored, desperate calls" and focus on toeing the path of the rule of law.

The over 80 Human Rights Civil Society Organizations, under the broad umbrella of Citizens Action Against Lawlessness, said those calling for the EFCC to ignore an ongoing court process and forcefully arrest a defendant, former Governor Yahaya Bello, were not only ignorant of the rule of law and up to some mischief, but also tools in the hands of desperate political actors to rubbish the integrity of the Commission.

While commending the EFCC for heeding the calls of reasonable, unbiased Nigerians and CSOs for the Commission to correct past mistakes and avoid disregard for the rule of law, the activists labelled those calling for Yahaya Bello's arrest as anarchists who the EFCC boss must be wary of.

"The same way this particular group of people have spread falsehood against judges, who they earlier boasted were for them, against prominent figures perceived to be close to President Bola Tinubu, and against APC governors that they felt were supporting them during the election in Kogi and at the Tribunal, is the same way they will turn against the EFCC boss with baseless allegations. It is their stock in trade. The EFCC boss and other relevant authorities must detect this and put them in their place," Segun Abegunde, Co-Convener of the Joint CSOs platform, said.

Abegunde, who is also the Coordinator of the South West Progressive Youths Organisation stated, "We insist that this is beyond corruption investigation but political persecution. Some sponsored anarchists still went to the EFCC Zonal office today to call on the Commission to use military force to attack the defendant's known residences and abduct him. There have been insinuations that they are even planning to use fake soldiers in order to inflict maximum damage."

"The target of these anarchists is to provoke crisis so that a state of emergency can be declared in the state. If they've lost at the polls and at the Tribunal, they most likely think they can create a crisis that will still serve their purpose. Why the desperation to hunt the man down at all costs? Many who understand the politics in the state know that these calls are nothing more than a revenge mission for a botched Igala agenda, believed to be the sole fault of Bello, as well as a way for other political enemies in the state to get their pound of flesh," the activists noted.

According to them, "these anarchists" must be called to order as they have allowed their insatiable appetite for revenge turn them into agents of destruction for the country.

"We call on President Bola Tinubu to call on the security agencies to be at alert as nothing bad must happen to Yahaya Bello or any of his family members.

"Let the courts decide Yahaya Bello's fate. Desperate opposition forces should not plot to kill him by all means. We demand due court processes. We say no to political persecution. We say no to opposition politicians using EFCC to attack Yahaya Bello who they consider their political enemy.

"EFCC must avoid anarchists bent on tarnishing its image. They should rather sharpen their political skills and leave the anti-graft agency alone. We will always give our unflinching support to the EFCC to carry out its duties strictly in line with the rule of the same law that set it up," the activists said.

The Association of Deans of Student Affairs in Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria (ADOSATIN) has named the Vice-Chancellor of Sam Maris University (SMU), Prof. Francis Gbore as its Patron.

The Vice-Chancellor, who was a member of the Association at Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko as the Institution’s Dean of Student Affairs at a time, delivered the Keynote Address at the 5th Annual Conference of the Association (ADOSATIN) held at the Royal Dream Hotels, Mararaba, Nasarawa recently.

The Association, while honouring Prof. Gbore with a plaque, noted with great enthusiasm that his appointment as one of its Patrons premised on his invaluable contributions to the establishment and growth of the Association.

ADOSATIN noted in particular, the much-needed support and cooperation given by the Vice-Chancellor during its previous Conference hosted by Osun State College of Technology, Esa-Oke.

In his response, the Don extolled the wisdom of the Association for his appointment and presentation of a plaque.

He said, “It is with profound gratitude that I accept the honour of my appointment as one of your Patrons. This recognition reflects our shared commitment to enhancing student affairs and supporting the holistic development of students in our tertiary institutions. I am deeply humbled by your confidence in my dedication and commitment to the ideals and cause of ADOSATIN.

“As your patron, I wish to assure you of my unfettered commitment to supporting the Association’s efforts to improve on the effective management of students in our tertiary institutions. Together, we can create robust support systems, innovative programs, and ensure inclusive environments that foster student growth and success. Your exemplary work inspires me, and I look forward to collaborating with other Patrons with whom I promise to work hand-in-hand to promote and achieve our shared goals.

“Once again, thank you for this incredible honour. Let us continue to strive for excellence in managing student affairs in our respective institutions, mold character, play in-loco-parentis role very well and make a lasting impact on the lives of the students we serve. Your confidence in me is a powerful motivator, and I am eager to contribute to our shared mission with unwavering dedication.

Indigenes of Kogi State have cautioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against those they described as embittered and desperate ethnic jingoists who are strengthening the public opinion that the Commission is collaborating with certain opposition figures to persecute the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello.

The indigenes said since the allegation of corruption by the EFCC against the former Governor became a national discourse, "some persons who are afraid of chasing their dreams at the polls have hidden under the veneer of activism to sponsor their tribesmen to impugn on the character of ex Governor Yahaya Bello maliciously".

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday in Abuja, the Chairman of Kogi Youth Leaders Forum, Benjamin Oguche, PhD, specifically noted that those still calling for the arrest of Bello even in the face of an ongoing court process, were either uninformed or out to rubbish the image of EFCC while pursuing their prolonged vendetta mission.

The Kogi youth leaders said this particular group had consistently pursued a "we against them" agenda, causing division and hate among the ethnic groups in Kogi, spreading falsehood and propaganda to the public on the matter.

"It is sad and regrettable that the so-called corruption allegation against Bello, which remains an allegation until established in the court of law, has become an opportunity for chronic political failures to unleash their intolerance and deep-rooted frustration on a state that our founding fathers have laboured so hard to unite.

"Without credible reasons, they have been said to have mobilised resources to fight him for daring to govern a state he hails from and for overseeing a free and fair election which produced another Governor, not from their fold," they stated.

According to them, the polarisation, ethnic and religious colouration that have been introduced in recent times into the EFCC trial of the immediate past Governor calls for worry, especially among every Kogi indigene who has a firm belief in the peaceful co-existence of the state as an indivisible entity.

"Suffice to say that what we see playing out today is a microcosm of what our country represents, where the so called minority is discriminated against, sidelined and treated like a lesser citizen in a country he has made equal, if not greater, contributions to building. The so called minority has been made to believe his voice does not count and his fundamental right to pursue social, economic and political interest taken away.

"Since through divine providence that former Governor Yahaya Bello became governor in 2016, several arrow of ethnic bitterness, needless attacks and corruption profiling have been targetted at him and his government for no offence other than for the simple reason that the responsibility to lead our dear state at that time fell on his shoulder.

"While God saw him through his four years in office, the people of our dear state equally and overwhelmingly renewed their mandate for him, sending him to go again, amidst hate campaign, violence attacks and ethnic war by some ethnic driven elites who have sworn never to allow certain ethnic groups have a taste of leading the state. While this gathering is not about catalogue of exploits he achieved and the records he broke within these eight years, it is important to note that since he left office, same known tribal jingoists and ethnic champions have been having sleepless nights plotting the downfall of the man.

"The anti-Bello protests in the UK last week, Lagos last week and Abuja today highlight the glaring danger those they regard as minority ethnic groups face in the hands of those who feel that their population is for the purpose of suppressing the fundamental rights of others to seek political interest. One continues to wonder where the protesters gathered the money to go on a protest spray, if some people are not bankrolling them, which suggest a sinister plan different from genuine fight against corruption as the public is made to understand.

"We understand that the case for which these hate-induced protests are going on is in the court and the court is a place of orderliness where every party will push their stands without necessarily drawing dagger to murder our peace. We are, however, surprised that dimension of sustained protests have been added to their inglorious mission.

"We have often expressed our confidence in the judiciary and irrespective of how long it could take, the wheel of justice must grind to a logical end. We, however, frown at the seeming open hands the EFCC has been showing to the protesters which is fuelling an unfortunate suspicion that must be immediately corrected.

"While we welcome in its entirety the probe of the former Governor, we, however, reject the deliberate image smearing against him. We call on the EFCC to disregard the propaganda of ethnic agents and face the task of diligent prosecution," the Kogi Youth Leaders advised.

The Civil Defence Officers Wife Association (CDOWA), Ondo State Chapter, has bought uniforms and paid school fees of some indigent students in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

Mrs Ademola Omotola Ibiloye, CDOWA Chairperson in the state, distributed the school uniforms and paid the school fees of the students on behalf of the association on Wednesday .

Ibiloye, who is the wife of the Ondo State Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), said the gesture was part of the association’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) commemorating the Children’s Day celebration.

She said that the indigent students were selected from three different schools within the Akure metropolis.

“Two primary and one secondary school benefited from the gesture, and to break it down, 17 pupils were supported in the two primary schools while 12 students benefitted in the secondary school,” she said.

She explained that school fees of seven pupils were paid while additional costs was made for the purchase of uniforms for three pupils at the Ilekun Community Primary School, Oda Road, Akure.

The CDOWA chairperson disclosed further that school fees for 10 pupils were paid at the Glory land Community Primary School and fees for 11 pupils were also paid at the Ijo Mimo Oluwa High School, Ijoka, Akure.

According to her, the reason the association is doing this is to give back to society, especially to give hope to indigent students in the little way.

“We thank God for using us to impact into the lives of the young ones because the Nigeria we are praying for, a better Nigeria we are hoping for, starts from those children,” she said.

Ibiloye, therefore, admonished the students not to be involved in crime and use their time for valuable activities.

“Don’t be discouraged because you have a brighter future ahead, don’t limit yourself and you need to work hard.

“Be mindful of people you are relating with, especially those Yahoo boys because their way is not the better way, remember that ill gotten wealth will fly away,” she said.

Mrs Jumoke Abiodun-Olaimolu, Principal, Ijo Mimo Oluwa High School, appreciated CDOWA for the gesture, saying it would go a long way to help the students to concentrate on their studies.

“We appreciate you for strengthening the hands of love to the indigent students because some parents could not afford a day’s meal not to talk of paying the school fees of their wards or children,” she said.

One of the benefiting students, David Oluwole, a Senior Secondary Student, Ijo Mimo Oluwa High School, thanked CDOWA for paying their school fees, saying it would help them to be more focused on their studies.

“We appreciate you ma, you have helped us in our career lives and we promise to be good ambassadors of this country,” Oluwole said

The General Manager of Operations and Technical at Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited (TSSNL), Sir Godfrey Tare Pondi, has been described as a compassionate leader with a rare gift of insight incredible leadership capacity.

The laudation was expressed, Wednesday, in a statement signed and made public by Ondo State Coordinator of the Tantita Security Services Limited, Senior High Chief Felix Idowu Asonja, on the occasion of Pondi's birthday anniversary.

The statement partly reads: "Effective leadership is measured using different dipsticks. People acquire leadership finesse through various means. For Sir Godfrey Tare Pondi, it is incredible and innate. He is a leader who is very perceptive, compassionate and responsive.

"Sir Pondi has a rare gift of insight and discernment. These fine traits explain why he has since recorded sterling feats in his capacity as General Manager. On this auspicious occasion of his birthday anniversary, we can only wish him God's unfailing grace over his life and family's."

The Vice-Chancellor of Sam Maris University, Prof Ayodeji Gbore, has urged students in Tertiary Institutions across the country to keep Internet fraud, cultism and drug addiction at arm's length, stressing that curtailing the menace demands consistent orientation and enlightenment.

The Don gave the advice during his Keynote Address at the 5th Annual Conference of the Association of Deans of Student Affairs in Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria (ADOSATIN) held at the Royal Dream Hotels, Mararaba, Nasarawa State.

The Vice-Chancellor identified peer pressure (influence of peer group), parental background, societal moral decadence, erosion of educational standards, lack of recreational facilities, socioeconomic factors, overzealous quest for power and protection among others, as the root causes of drug addiction, Internet fraud and cultism.

Prof Gbore emphasized that the prevailing decadence had eaten deep into the fabrics of morality in the society, lamenting that prestigious institutions, which have produced several generations of prominent and reputable individuals, are now reduced to an appalling den of criminals and social degenerates.

He said, “Like most social vices, it is not surprising that these trios usually go hand in hand and in some cases, we find students who indulge in all of them. An internet fraudster is prone to drug addiction the same way a drug addict is prone to cultism and vice versa. As a result of this, they tend to live extravagant lifestyles, throwing them off focus and affecting the focus of other students around them.”

“There was a time drug addicts were generally referred to as being insane; cultists were seen as bad company and miscreants to the society; and internet fraudsters were labelled as thieves. Today, however, drug addicts, as well as cultists and internet fraudsters have seemingly developed a heightened sense of boldness and confidence in their misdemeanours.
“This is obviously as a result of the new generation glamorizing these vices and making it the norm in our society. Parents are not insulated from the blame. In a bid to showcase wealth and affluence, some have derailed from the societal values which were inculcated in them and refused to chastise their children and wards against indulging in vices.

Highlighting the roles of Deans of Student Affairs, Prof. Gbore stressed that formulation of policies and implementation of rules and regulations, meting out appropriate disciplinary measures, promotion of rewarding extra-curricular activities, and robust town-gown relationship would nip the menace in the bud.

The Don tasked the Deans of Student Affairs across the country to take the front row in combating the multidimensional challenges of drug addiction, cultism and internet fraud which are most prevalent amongst the students of tertiary institutions in Nigeria, and maintain decorum amongst the students.

Hundreds of activists, on Saturday, stormed the streets of Lagos to protest alleged underground moves by some desperate opposition figures in Kogi State as well as other perceived political enemies to unleash terror on the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, using the platform of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The activists, who addressed a press conference and also staged a huge rally, condemned calls by a group called Zero Corruption Agenda in collaboration with another group, Kogites United Against Corruption, for the EFCC to ignore court orders guaranteing Bello's fundamental human rights and effect an arrest despite the ongoing court process.

While raising the alarm that there were speculations going around that some desperate politicians were "even allegedly planning to use gunmen dressed in fake military uniforms to attack Yahaya Bello's residences", they called on the police and other relevant security agencies to be vigilant to prevent anarchy in the country.

According to them, many Nigerians already suspect that the alleged "endless attack on the former Governor, his family members and even innocent children by the EFCC in the most unprofessional way, despite revelations that showed he was actually protected by the law, have deep political undertones.

Comrade Segun Abegunde, who briefed the press on behalf of the CSOs, under the joint umbrella of Citizens Action Against Lawlessness, insisted that the desperation by some opposition figures and Yahaya Bello's political enemies to hide under the purported fight against corruption to call for the arrest of a man who has a court order for his fundamental human rights to be protected and who is already in court with the EFCC, "almost confirms this insinuation of an evil plan against him by some interested politicians, using the EFCC platform."

"This is not difficult to detect, having seen the composition of the so-called Kogites who made these curious calls, even in London. The videos exposed their ethnic leaning as they were speaking the language of the aggrieved politicians in Kogi State," the activists said.

They alleged that opposition political parties were using the EFCC to fight political battles in Kogi State and called on the ruling Party to be vigilant.

"The tribunal judgement on the last governorship election in Kogi State is coming up on Monday May 27th. The desperation by the opposition to have Yahaya Bello in custody has increased exponentially as that date approaches. There seems to be a determination to either keep him out of circulation while they try to steal APC's mandate in the state or to completely eliminate him for whatever reasons only known to them.

"Also, considering the way and manner the EFCC chairman has taken the Yahaya Bello matter so personal, it is glaring that a Yahaya Bello in the custody of the EFCC is not going to be safe at all," they stated.

Abegunde said, "The courts are there to mediate between government and citizens and between two or more contending interests and the court's intervention is sacrosanct until overturned by a superior Court.

"The rallies, both home and abroad, calling for jettisoning of the due process of law and for the EFCC to arrest Yahaya Bello, court orders or no court orders, sponsored by the opposition and his political enemies within, are not only reckless but dangerous to our polity and absolutely condemnable.

"Such calls have now given credence to the allegations that some powerful political forces are after Yahaya Bello, not because of corruption allegations, but that they are actually after his life. What have the military got to do with the EFCC that a group would be calling for military intervention to arrest a single citizen in a case where he is already a defendant?"

Emphasising the urgent need for President Bola Tinubu to call the anti-graft body to order before it is too late, the CSOs pointed out that the so-called Kogites call for the commission to use military force to arrest the former governor, even when his date to appear in court had already been fixed, was not only reckless but dangerous to the nation's polity.

"There is even a speculation going around now, which may be credible, that some desperate politicians are even allegedly planning to use gunmen dressed in fake military uniforms to attack Yahaya Bello's residences.

"We call on the police and other relevant security agencies to be vigilant. We also call on President Bola Tinubu to immediately call EFCC to order. The Commission seems to have offered its platform for enemies of the former governor to execute their plans against him and the President must wade in, especially with the facts on ground that EFCC has displayed flagrant disregard for the rule of law, all the way, in handling this matter.

"We call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, to, as a matter of urgency, call the EFCC to order with a view to staying off political interference. The Commission should concentrate strictly on its anti-corruption mandate by staying within the enabling laws that established it. The EFCC should not be identified with promoting anarchy, no matter what.

"The court processes should be allowed to run their course without disruption. That is when democracy and rule of law can be said to be functioning in our nation," the activists stressed.

. We refuse to support lawlessness, EFCC should reform its activities

Again, scores of Anti-Corruption Civil Society Organisations have kicked against what they described as the perceived use of the platform of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission by politicians to fight their political battles.

They said this during an emergency Press conference on Friday, in reaction to a joint press conference by "a civil society organisation and a group, which called itself Kogites United Against Corruption Coalition."

The frontline CSOs, led by the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, wondered why a few Nigerians were not seeing the persecution in the current case against the former Governor of Kogi State, considering the anomaly in the undending calls for arrest, mainly by members of the opposition party in the state, in collaboration with alleged sponsored CSOs, when the matter was before the courts.

According to them, the line-up of lawyers, both at the Tribunal and as seen on the current charge sheet against the former Governor, throws up the name of the same lawyer standing for the opposition party at the Tribunal and for EFCC in the suit against the former Governor.

Addressing the press on Friday, Chairman, CACOL, Debo Adeniran, said, "One wonders how opposition politicians and the EFCC now collaborate on a case of corruption allegations as is so glaring in this matter. We are aware of all the clandestine meetings by opposition political parties with some activists with a view to sponsoring protests and Press Conferences against us. For as long as they do that, they'll continue to spoil their own case in public view and justify the fact that this is beyond corruption investigation but direct persecution."

They described those who addressed a press conference, calling for the arrest of the former Governor and attacking their activities as "ill-informed folks" allegedly being sponsored by opposition political parties who had seen the EFCC as a reliable ally in actualising their interests.

"Today's Press Conference by those ill-informed folks, who we have reasonable suspicion are being sponsored by opposition political Parties who are fighting their own political wars on the matter and, even, the Commission against us, was filled with a poor comedy of judgment and an apparently orchestrated blackmail against our coalition. This is why this is so political rather than prosecutorial," the activists said.

According to them, the EFCC would be doing itself a lot of good by ignoring characters asking the Commission to disobey lawful court orders and apply maximum force by bringing in the military "with a view to violently arresting a defendant we are repeatedly told by the Commission is being investigated for 'white collar crimes.'"

Adeniran said, "Anyone who has even a little knowledge of our pedigrees in the fight against corruption should know that we have fought many battles against corruption and at the same time against all forms of injustice in this country, even at the risk of our lives and livelihoods. We do not pick and choose which injustice to fight against. We invest time, energy, resources and relationships into pursuing the cause of justice throughout this country for decades now.

"We are not emergency activists and we are beyond compromising even with all the billions in the world. We stand for the cause of humanity which is about justice, fairness and the highest ideals of a decent and free society.

"Therefore, any individual or a group of individuals who allege us of supporting corruption is either ignorant of the subject matter or doesn't know us at all and, therefore, cannot make an informed judgment on us or our activities."

The CSOs said their struggle was not only against corruption but also against injustice, adding that they would not be intimidated into silence in the EFCC/Yahaya Bello matter because there was a clear case of injustice and disrespect for the rule of law, which in itself was corruption.

Adeniran stated, "We are not politicians and we are not in the business of partaking of the loot by corrupt public officials, we fight them. Even as a sitting president, we came out vehemently against Olusegun Obasanjo because we believed he had a case to answer. Who paid us to do that?

When the current EFCC Chairman was nominated and there was brouhaha about his qualification for the job due to him not having a security training background, I was among the leading figures who stood by him and insisted that he was qualified enough for the office. Many groups were sponsored against his confirmation, some of whose leaders I personally called to convince them to drop their opposition and they did. How much did the EFCC chairman or anyone pay me for that?

"When he was eventually confirmed, we not only congratulated him but we also cautioned that he should avoid the pitfalls of his predecessors by doing everything according to law and must never act contrary to the orders, rulings and judgments of courts of competent jurisdiction because that would be a recipe for anarchy and his own downfall like the others. We were confident that as a lawyer, a senior one for that matter, he wouldn't follow the route of disobedience to lawful court orders.

"Therefore, when we saw that the commission under him was tilting towards that direction, we decided to speak up as a reminder to the chairman that this wasn't the way to go. Nobody should take this as a crime against us. We refuse to be intimidated into silence. We refuse to stop speaking out against injustice. We refuse to support lawlessness."

The activists said an EFCC chairman should engage in less of media celebrity show and concentrate on the critical assignments of making the Commission work.

"An EFCC chairman should not be someone you see everyday in the media exposing critical information that should even be secret in order to assist in the effectiveness of their investigation. An EFCC chairman should be seen lesser but be heard by the competence and capacity he brings to bear on his office. That is why the Commission has a publicity department. Let them do the talking whilst you provide effective leadership," they insisted.

"I don't know Yahaya Bello, I've never met him, I don't intend to meet him. But the same way that the June 12 actualization struggles were not about M.K.O Abiola as an individual is the same way that this intervention is not about Yahaya Bello as a person," Adeniran noted.

"Already, many of Yahaya Bello's supporters are alleging an assassination plot. The government would do well to avoid anything that could confirm these suspicions and the only way to avoid this is by playing by the rule of law to the letter," he said.

Those who represented over 80 Anti-Corruption Civil Society Organisations on Friday were Comrade Sina Loremikan (Campaign Against Impunity); Comrade Olufemi Lawson (Centre for Public Accountability); Declan Ihekaire (Activists for Good Governance); Gbenga Soloki (CAIDOV); and Ganzallo Gbenga (Transparency Advocacy for Good Governance).
Others were Comrade Funmi Jolade (Community Women Forum); Princess Ada Nwandu (Ohaneze Youth); Alh. A. Abdullahi (Justice and Peace Centre); Comrade Adeshina Ishola (Transparency Agenda); Comrade Daniel Oyesola (Stop Impunity Coalition); Comrade Leke Adebanjo (Committee for Amnesty); and Kayode Sampson (Democracy and Justice Forum), among others.

A member representing Surulere 1 Federal Constituency in Lagos State, Fuad Kayode Laguda, FCTI, has unveiled his achievements in his first 100 days in office.

The lawmaker disclosed this in a statement issued on Wednesday and signed by him.

The statement reads, “Dear Surulerians, I am honoured to give you an account of my activities as your representative at the House of Representatives sworn in on 13th February, 2024.

“Within the last 100 days in office, I have strived to progress our interests in the area of legislation, education, economic empowerment, welfare and community development.

“My Bills for Act to amend the National Health Act 2014 to prohibit and penalize Organ trafficking in Nigeria and Higher National Diploma Discrimination (Prohibition), 2024 were read for the first time. I also moved a motion to curb the use of casualized labour by employers of labour in Nigeria.

“Under education, 60 students were sponsored to watch a stage play of "The Lion and The Jewel" by Prof. Wole Soyinka, which is part of the WASSCE syllabus. We equally doled out bursaries to indigent students, 100 JAMB forms, and professional exams (ICAN, CITN , NIPR etc) fees were paid for qualified constituents.

“We are partnering with the leadership of the markets to harness their entrepreneurial and vocational experience to empower our constituents, supporting business owners, attending to the immediate needs of the various CDAs via the FKL/CDA Technical Team, and the welfarism of Surulerians are prioritised.

“These feats are achievable through your unflinching support and feedback. We are not resting on our laurels as we remain committed to fulfill our campaign promises, as contained in our manifesto.

...Lambast opposition for alleged desperation

Kogi indigenes and concerned Nigerians gathered under the banner of the "Alliance For Emancipation and True Change" to stage a peaceful protest in the United Kingdom, calling on President Bola Tinubu to intervene and ensure the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) remains impartial and free from political interference.

They raised concerns that the Commission, with the handling of the corruption allegations against the former Governor of Kogi State, had given the impression of political persecution to Nigerians and the international community.

During the protest, held in London on May 20, 2024, the demonstrators stressed the importance of a fair and just prosecution process, in line with the rule of law, and condemned the alleged use of the EFCC by politicians to intimidate and harass perceived opponents.

They cautioned against the politicization of the EFCC's activities and called for a review of its operating procedures to ensure transparency and accountability.

Speaking during the procession, Dr Shaibu Ojogbane, Publicity Secretary of the Alliance For Emancipation and True Change, and Chukwunonso Ezeani, Director of Research & Public Affairs, reiterated the alliance's support for the government's anti-corruption efforts but called for greater oversight to prevent selective justice and abuse of human rights.

The group said, "The protest against the former Governor today, apparently sponsored by the Opposition in the state, indicates desperation on their part. We are aware that at least one of the opposition candidates is currently in London.

''Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello has restated his readiness to answer questions regarding his period of leadership in Kogi state; all he asks for is that the rule of law be adhered to, as it is glaring that in this particular case, the commission is serving the interest of some powerful Nigerians beyond the eye meets.

''With this in mind, we state without any fear of contradiction that the commission must be called to order without delay.

''We trust that Mr President will act swiftly so this situation doesn't degenerate into a massive calling out of the government on matters related to selective justice, abuse of human rights and other issues associated therein.''

They urged the president to intervene promptly to prevent further damage to the government's reputation and ensure the EFCC operates with integrity and impartiality.

According to them, the Opposition has also continued to ride on the activities of the EFCC to malign Governor Bello by sponsoring ethnic onslaught against him even outside the country.

The protesters said they deemed it important to stage a peaceful protest on the side of justice so that Nigerians were not misled by a few people.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has requested the Kogi Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, based in Abuja, to dismiss a petition submitted by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and its candidate, Murtala Ajaka, contesting the victory of Gov. Usman Ododo.

Governor Ododo, along with the All Progressives Congress, APC, has also urged the three-member panel of Justices, led by Justice Ado Birnin-Kudu, to reject the petition entirely, arguing it lacks competence and merit.

Representatives for the trio, including Chief Kanu Agabi, Joseph Daudu, and Emmanuel Ukala, made these assertions while presenting their final written addresses and counterarguments against the SDP and Ajaka’s petition.

However, Pius Akubo, representing Ajaka, has urged the tribunal to disregard the respondents’ contentions and uphold their petition.

According to News Agency of Nigeria, the tribunal, after listening to all the parties in the petition, reserved the matter for judgment.

It would be recalled that Ajaka had challenged Ododo’s victory in the Nov. 11, 2023 Kogi governorship poll.

In the petition, INEC, Ododo and APC are listed as 1st, 2nd and 3rd respondents respectively.

The tribunal had, on April 25, fixed Monday for adoption of final written addresses after parties closed their case in the matter.

Upon resumed hearing, INEC’s counsel, Agabi told the court that their final written address was dated and filed on May 2.

He said the commission’s reply on point of law was dated May 8 and filed May 9.

While adopting the processes, the lawyer submitted that the petition lacked merit and was incompetent, urging the court to strike it out or dismiss it.

“It is our humble submission that your work in the determination of this petition is simplified in recent judgments by the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court,” he said.

He argued that the Appeal Court had decided that if the grounds of a petition are inconsistent with one another, and are not consistent with the reliefs, it should be struck out.

He also argued that the evidence of the petitioners were grossly insufficient, citing a Supreme Court decision in a case by Tonye Cole against INEC.

“It is to the effect that once the evidence called is grossly insufficient, there is no evidence.

“In that case, the petitioner filed 305 witness depositions but only adopted 40 of them.

“The petitioner, according to the decision, only adopted about 13.1 per cent of the witness depositions.

“In this case, the depositions adopted represent just about 3.6 per cent of their witness depositions,” he said.

He said the petitioners only called 25 witnesses out of the scores listed.

Agabi said that in a mathematical calculation of evidence, 3.6 per cent of Ajaka’s witness deposition adopted in the petition amounted to a failure and, therefore, ought to be dismissed.

The lawyer also described the case as “frivolous”.

He said the petitioners equally failed to file the witness deposition before hand in contravention of the Supreme Court’s decision in Obungado’s case.

He argued that the petitioners’ witness, who testified about the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines clearly stated that he could not guarantee whether those were the BVAS used.

Besides, he said the witness was not the maker of the inputs in the BVAS machines.

“Also, the evidence contained in the BVAS machines fell short of what is required of the law,” he added.

Agabi further argued that the BVAS machine was tendered against Section 84 of the Evidence Act, as there was no certificate of trustworthiness attached alongside it as required by the law.

He argued that out of the 25 witnesses called by the petitioners, there was no single polling unit agent among them.

“In other words, not a single person who observed the election was called.

“Besides, the star witness could not distinguish between what he heard and what he saw when questions were put to him,” he said.

The senior lawyer prayed the tribunal to strike out or dismiss the petition for being incompetent.

While adopting his final written address dated and filed on May 1, Daudu, who appeared for Gov. Ododo, urged the tribunal to dismiss the petition in its entirety.

Adumbrating, he argued that the petition was statute barred (filed out of time).

The senior lawyer said that though the petitioners responded to their submission that “when it comes to filing, it is what the secretary of the tribunal says that determines the date of filing,” he, however, argued that the action of the petitioners was against Section 122(1) and (2)(a) of the Evidence Act, which empowers the tribunal to take judicial notice of this.

But Akubo objected to Daudu’s citing of the section, describing it as fresh argument.

Daudu, in response, disagreed with Akubo that he was raising fresh issues after a final written address had been filed.

“You cannot shut me out from making my comment. You cannot because you don’t have the power to do so,” he said.

He said if the court found merit in his argument, Akubo had the right to respond because it bordered on issues of remittal procedure.

He also urged the tribunal to dismiss the allegations of forgery against his client, saying it bordered on pre-election matter, which the apex court had decided in Gbagi’s case against INEC.

Daudu also argued that Section 137 of the Electoral Act cited by the petitioners on allegations of over-voting did not apply in the instant petition.

Also backing Daudu’s submission, Ukala, who represented APC, urged the court to dismiss the petition for lacking in merit.

The lawyer, who said their final written address, dated April 30 was filed same date, adopted all the processes.

The petitioners’ lawyer, Akubo, told the tribunal that their final written address was dated and filed May 6.

He disagreed with Daudu that their petition was filed out of time.

He argued that the respondents themselves confirmed that the petition was filed on December 2, 2023, even by their own witness.

“I urge your lordship to hold that we filed this petition within time under our law,” he said.

After taking the arguments, Justice Birnin-Kudu reserved judgment in the petition.

“The date will be communicated to both parties,” he said.

A former member of the House of Representatives, Honorable Israel Sunny-Goli, has petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe multi-million naira investments made by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).

Sunny-Goli, who represented the Nembe-Brass Federal Constituency in the 9th Assembly, stated that he is calling for a thorough investigation and possible prosecution regarding the disbursement of funds for the Brass Fertilizer and Petrochemical Limited, the Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited, as well as the Brass Petroleum Product Terminal Limited.

The former lawmaker noted that all the projects are situated within the precinct of Brass Local Government Area and that the investments were undertaken during the tenure of the immediate past Executive Secretary of the Board, Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote.

According to him, NCDMB’s total equity of $200 million was contributed to the Brass Fertilizer and Petrochemical Limited project, which was conceived to establish two trains of 5,000 MTPD methanol plants and one train of 500 Mscf per day processing plant, along with associated infrastructure to be sited in Odioma, Brass Island, Bayelsa State.

For the Atlantic Refinery project, he disclosed that a full investment of $35 million was made for the project, which was expected to be a 2,000 bpd modular refinery with a jetty facility and 2MW power plant, with a duration of 24 months completion at the Brass Free Trade Zone (FTZ).

Sunny-Goli further stated in his petition that the Brass Petroleum Product Terminal Limited is also included for probe, with NCDMB’s investment aimed at establishing a 50 million-liter facility with a two-way product jetty, automated storage tanks, and loading bay in Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

He expressed sadness that the current state of the three projects is nothing to write home about, as they are now surrounded by uncertainty and a sense of gloom.

Sunny-Goli pointed out that the projects are well-meaning and could provide jobs for the teeming unemployed youths and also increase the government’s revenue.

“To ensure that our great nation is not short-changed, and our teeming unemployed youths are not denied gainful employment opportunities in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu, I hereby request that your commission immediately institute a thorough investigation into the projects listed above and prosecute without delay anyone found culpable in the event of misappropriation of funds,” he said.

…Adjourns To June 13, 2024 For Arraignment

A Federal High Court, Abuja, on Friday granted the application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for the former Governor of Kogi, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, to appear in court for his trial.

Justice Emeka Nwite, in a ruling, held that even if the arrest warrant was illegally obtained, the defendant (Bello) should have still shown up in court.

The judge had, on April 23, fixed today (May 10) for the ruling on the ex-governor’s application to set aside the arrest warrant against him.

The judge had on, April 17, issued an arrest warrant to EFCC for Bello’s arrest.

The order was made after the lawyer who appeared for EFCC, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, moved the ex-parte application to the effect.

But Bello’s counsel, Adeola Adedipe, SAN, on April 23, prayed the court to set aside the arrest warrant against their client.

He canvassed that the arrest warrant had become unnecessary since their lead counsel, Abdulwahab Mohammed, SAN, had accepted the service of the charge on behalf of the ex-governor.

He argued that the arrest warrant order, having been made before the charge ought to be set aside suo motu (on its own accord, without any request by the parties involved).

The senior lawyer argued that contrary to Pinheiro’s submission that the ex-governor must be in court first before any application could be entertained being a criminal case, he said the anti-graft agency also made an application on April 18 after the warrant arrest was issued to EFCC on April 17 and that the court granted it.

The lawyer submitted that the arrest warrant was issued in favour of the EFCC by the court in violation of fair hearing to their client.

According to him, the complainant made an application for substituted service on 18th day of April after the arrest warrant had been issued on 17th day of April and today, my noble lord granted it.

“The court must satisfy itself that the defendant (Bello) will not be prejudiced in fairness if the warrant of arrest continues to hang on his neck, having been made before service of the charge contrary to Section 394 of ACJA,” Adeola argued.

He argued that justice should be a three-way traffic; that is, justice to the prosecution, the defendant and the public.

He said for Bello to appear in court, he must have the notion that he would get justice.

Adedipe also argued that the EFCC was an unconstitutional body because its establishment was not ratified by the 36 states of the federation.

He said that for the EFCC to become a constitutional body, the 36 states of the federation must ratify the law establishing it as against the current position, that the EFCC Establishment Act was unilaterally ratified by the Federal Government.

He, therefore, asked the judge to vacate the arrest warrant against the former governor.

But Pinheiro vehemently opposed the application.

Counsel to Bello has however said his client will appear in court on 13th of June at the Federal High Court, in Abuja.

Abdulwahab Mohammed, SAN gave the assurance while saying that his client had stayed away from the authorities because he feared for his life.

The counsel assured that the former kogi state governor would make himself available to clear his name after he got the assurance of the court that no harm would come to his client.

The counsel also clarified that Bello will appear in court and not in EFCC custody.

Some members of the All Progressives Congress under the umbrella of Southwest Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Supporters Movement have called on President Bola Tinubu not to delay in sacking some of his appointees who have allegedly been plotting his political downfall for their selfish interests.

Addressing a press conference on Thursday in Lagos, the Tinubu-Shettima Presidential supporters condemned, in its entirety, the development which they described as "satanic agenda", and called on President Tinubu and the APC leadership to immediately arrest the situation and ensure that the party is not hijacked by a disloyal few.

They also vowed to expose those scheming to succeed Tinubu in 2027, with the notion that he might not be able to contest.

According to the supporters, allegations by a prominent member of the ruling APC, Jesutega Onokpasa, about those around the president already planning to succeed him possibly before he completes his first term in office, ought not to be taken with levity.

Onokpasa, a former member of the APC Presidential Campaign Council for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, had in a video clip, alleged the ongoing drama around the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s allegations against former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, and the continued attack on former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, were part of plans by these individuals against the President.

Speaking on behalf of the group, Femi Bode-Banjoko, APC Chieftain and Coordinator, Southwest Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Supporters Movement said, although Onokpasa didn't mention names, "it is not difficult to make an educated guess as to those involved in such satanic plot to be scheming for Asiwaju's untimely departure for their own selfish political ambitions."

Bode-Banjoko added, "These characters have been using their positions as appointees of the president to pursue their personal agendas rather than concentrate on the assignments of their offices.

"Because of that, their performances in office have been woeful till date. Rather than assist the president to improve on the country's security and economy, they are busy chasing their perceived political enemies all around the country whilst the country suffers. They continue to give our Party a bad name among Nigerians because they are not justifying their appointments whatsoever but concentrating on alienating those who worked hard for the success of our Party in the last presidential election from the president.

"For instance, former Governors Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State and Ganduje of Kano were in the forefront of Northern Governors who gave one hundred percent support and loyalty with tireless hard work to ensure Asiwaju's victory to emerge as our Party's Presidential candidate and eventually as the President and Commander-in-chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria last year.

"Nasir El-Rufai and former Governor Yahaya Bello were the ones who went to Court to bail out the country from the satanic plot of the Naira redesign policy that threw many Nigerians into pains and penury.

"These retrogressive political opportunists made sure that El-Rufai was frustrated out of the Ministerial appointment through flimsy petitions and are now instigating his successor against him. Former Governors El-Rufai, and Yahaya Bello delivered their states to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2023 through unprecedented hard work, dedication and Party loyalty whilst these ones who are reaping from where they didn't sow lost their states and couldn't even deliver any significant electoral value to the Party's ticket. But they are now exploiting their positions to go after those who delivered for the ticket.

"They wouldn't allow our Party's national chairman to rest by sponsoring proxy wars against him. They have succeeded in alienating former Governor El-Rufai from the president and the Party and still going after him using his successor. They are after the life of former Governor Yahaya Bello who worked so hard to win his state for the President and the Party at the governorship election whilst they achieved zero for the Party. The offices they occupy are failing in their mandate as there have been no noticeable improvement in the country's security and so forth."

The Coordinator of the support group, therefore, urged the president to fire all incompetent and disloyal members of his cabinet and replace them with those who can help him secure the country better among other development indicators.

"All those paying marabouts millions of Naira and dollars to pray for the President to be sick or even die will receive the arrow of death before they achieve their aim," he said.

Bode-Banjoko restated the group's undivided loyalty to President Tinubu and the party, assuring that "He (Tinubu) will complete his first term and win his second with even greater electoral success by God's grace."

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Jesutega Onokpasa, has revealed that certain appointees of President Bola Tinubu are plotting to succeed him before the end of his tenure and are seriously wishing that the President will not make it to 2027 for their selfish reasons.

Onokpasa, a lawyer and former member of the APC Presidential Campaign Council for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who lamented the alleged hypocrisy, pull him down mentality and anti-party activities going on in the governing party, laid curses on those he accused of wishing Tinubu dead, saying, "If they don't repent, Asiwaju will attend their funeral."

He said this in a video, where he was seen addressing party members and drawing their attention to the belief that the ongoing drama around the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission's allegations against former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello; and the continued attack on former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, were plans mapped out by these individuals to allegedly perfect their plans.

Expressing concern over ill treatments, selective prosecution and hounding meted out on some prominent chieftains of the party since the emergence of Tinubu's presidency, Onokpasa alleged that the particular appointees he was referring to in Tinubu's government were behind the ordeals of former Governors Yahaya Bello, Nasir El- Rufai and Abdullahi Ganduje in order to perfect their "satanic" succession plans, while allegedly wishing that the President would no longer be around by 2027.

Referring to a particular appointee of Tinubu whose name was not mentioned, the chieftain said, "You drive Rufai away, you start hounding Ganduje, although there are other things involved, you start attacking Yahaya Bello, what did you do? You don't have mandate my friend, you are just an appointee... you think we don't know what is going on?

"Listen, Asiwaju is a child of God. Asiwaju will rule this country for eight complete years. There is nothing anybody can do about that. He will rule this first four years, he will so perform, Nigerians, again, will vote for him and next time around, we will win a majority of the total votes cast. So, all these your satanic plans, plotting that our President will not make it to 2027, you are wasting your time. Get that through your head."

The party chieftain, who Nigerians know to be a die-hard supporter of President Tinubu, also angrily bemoaned what he called the attitude of "using and dumping" people who worked for the victory of the President in 2023, while those who were against the President and even insulted him, were being given priorities "over authentic supporters and genuine Batists."

Onokpasa, who was also a member of the APC Presidential Legal Team and Chairman, Tinubu Media Support Group, said, "Of recent concern to me is the case of my younger brother, His Excellency, the former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello. In this party, we have had our brother, the former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El Rufai basically chased out of our party despite what he did for us to make us win. Now, it is Yahaya Bello. A few weeks or months ago, it was our National Chairman, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje that was basically almost being chased from our party."

Blowing hot against those behind the ugly trend, who he claimed were arrogating powers to themselves at the detriment of Tinubu's wellbeing, and warning them to desist, Onokpasa stated, "Listen, we cannot tolerate such nonsense in a party. Let everybody in this party come to his senses. We know how we won election. We won election because of the grace of God, because the grace of God is upon our President, Asiwaju. We won election with the lowest margin. This our government has the lowest margin since 1999. We won with less than 40 per cent of the votes. In every other election, someone had won with 50 per cent of the votes.

"Everybody that contributed to our victory is important to me, because me, I am a fanatical Batist. This is the way I see Bola Tinubu's administration. Bola Tinubu is a child of grace. The way I see it, God wants Bola Tinubu to be our President and we need him to be our President for eight years. What we should all square up to right now is a question of, there is no need to beat about the bush; there are people in our party who don't believe in our President. For whatever reason they feel, I don't know where they went to, that's their headache."

He cautioned those wishing Tinubu dead, stressing that the president would make it beyond 2027.

"Even after that eight years, he (Tinubu) will become an elder stateman for many years after that and none of you ... all of you doing this rubbish, if you don't repent, Asiwaju will attend all of your funerals. I am the one that is saying it," he said.

Onokpasa recounted how a young man died in Edo State after wishing the President dead, saying, "I will like to share a story with you. There was this young man in Delta State where I come from. He had the guts to come to me and he said, uncle, this man, Bola Tinubu that you are supporting is going to die before the election and I told him, are you the God that created him? Do you know what happened? May his soul rest in peace, he died before Bola Tinubu won election."

"There are people in this party who don't believe in Asiwaju, they never believe that Asiwaju can make it to 2027. Do you know what? All these people, if they don't repent, Asiwaju will attend all of their funerals. They are mad! They don't have mandate, it is Asiwaju we voted for, it is Asiwaju that has mandate, it is Asiwaju that is the President. And we need Asiwaju to run complete eight years to finally make this country the pride of the black race," APC chieftain stated.

On the Bello-EFCC controversy, he said it was for the court to decide, stating, "Nobody is supporting corruption. However, we fight corruption according to law and you will not have a personal indifference with somebody and then you use the instrumentality of office to torment that person. We will not tolerate that in this party. We must not."

He also lambasted a particular appointee that he portrayed to be high-handed, alleging that the appointee funded an opposition member against the APC candidate, Usman Ododo, during the Kogi State governorship election.

The popular Tinubu loyalist said, "I mean, can you imagine the nonsense. You sponsored somebody who left our party, he used to be a member of our party committee, you claim to be a member of our party, you now sponsor him against our own candidate, Usman Ododo, you give him money, he lost, we defeated him. Sorry! Then, you say his lawyer, my learned friend, Jibril Okutepa, he is the one that you now brief to torment Yahaya Bello?

"I am very proud of Yahaya Bello, Yahaya Bello helped Asiwaju to win election. Anybody who helped Asiwaju to win election is my brother. He is my father's son that my mother gave birth to. I don't owe you any apology, who are you? Nonsense! You will turn all of us to cowards?"

The Court of Appeal has granted an exparte motion for stay of proceedings filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission against the contempt proceeding commenced by the former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, against the Chairman of the Commission, Ola Olukoyede.

The Court of Appeal, presided over by Hon. Justice Joseph O.K. Oyewole, consequently granted the EFCC's application to serve the processes in the Appeal by substituted means on the former Governor. The Court consequently adjourned the hearing of the motion on notice to May 20, 2024.

The EFCC boss who was summoned to appear before the Kogi State High Court on May 13, 2024, to show cause why he should not be committed to prison for disobeying the Orders of the court, had appealed the Ruling of the trial Court and sought a stay of the proceeding of the Court.

The EFCC boss is facing a contempt charge for carrying out "some acts upon which they (the EFCC) have been restrained" by the Court on February 9, 2024, pending the determination of the substantive Originating Motion.


Justice I. A. Jamil, delivering a ruling in Suit No: HCL/68M/2024 and Motion No: HCL/190M/2024, ordered that "the said act was carried out by the Respondent (EFCC) in violation of the order, which was valid and subsisting when they carried out the act. That same act of the Respondent amounts to Contempt.

EFCC operatives had laid siege on the residence of the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, as early as 8am on April 17, 2024, with a bid to arrest him, despite a court order restraining them from taking such action, pending the determination of the Originating Motion.

Justice Jamil's order was based on a motion ex-parte filed by Yahaya Bello through his lawyer, M.S. Yusuf, Esq, where he prayed the court
for an order to issue and serve the Respondent (EFCC Chairman) with Form 49 Notice to show cause why Order of committal should not be made on Olukoyede.

Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned further hearing in the alleged money laundering charges against Ali Bello and three others to May 27, 2024.

The Judge, on Thursday, adjourned the trial following the conclusion of evidence in chief by the second witness of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC,
Olomotane Egoro.

The adjournment was to allow counsel to Ali Bello, Abubakar Aliu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria SAN, to cross examine the witness in his testimony against the defendants.

At Thursday's proceedings, in the suit marked: ABJ/CR/573/2022 (FRN Vs. Ali Bello and 3 others), Egoro, a Staff of Access Bank, tendered Bank Statements of Keyless Nature Limited, Fasab Business Enterprise and Ari Consulting and Integrated Limited and testified of cash lodgements into the accounts from 14 Local Government Areas of Kogi State.

The witness, who did not state the purpose for which the monies were transferred into the accounts, also testified as to withdrawals from the said accounts.

The lodgements and withdrawals were said to have been made from between 2017 and 2022.

At the end of the Witness' testimony, Counsel to the 1st Defendant, Ali Bello (A. M. Aliyu SAN) prayed the Court for an adjournment to enable him cross examine the Witness. By agreement of Counsel, the matter was adjourned.

Rotimi Oyedepo Iseoluwa, SAN, appeared for the Prosecution.

Nureini Jimoh SAN appeared for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Defendants.

Ali Bello and three others are facing trial on an alleged N3 billion fraud charge brought against them by the EFCC.

***Vow to present case to National Human Rights Commission

Scores of youths from Kogi State trooped out in Abuja, on Wednesday, in a May Day solidarity walk for Nigerian children to press home their disappointment with the handling of the much-publicised allegations of corruption against the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The youths decried what they called the systemic violation of the constitutionally guaranteed rights of the former Governor's children, "who have nothing whatsoever to do with whatever the Commission is investigating their parents for."

President, Kogi Independent Youths Association, Comrade Mohammed Abdulrazak, said, "Let it be on record that we do not support corruption in any manner. What we are against is not following due processes to carry out law enforcement duties, especially when you begin to drag in innocent children into the fray. This can damage them psychologically for life.

"Children don't play politics. Children can't be punished for the sins of their parents even when such has been proven. Nobody deserves to be punished for a crime they know nothing about, not to talk of innocent children.

"Today's rally is the first in the series of actions we have laid out until justice is done in this matter. All these concerns will be presented to the National Human Rights Commission any moment from now for appropriate intervention especially to protect the rights of the innocent children who have been dragged into this political war by the EFCC."

He added, "As educated youths who are versed in the practice and procedures concerning the arrest, arraignment, and prosecution of an accused person, the due process of the law is sacrosanct and must be duly adhered to and complied with.

"Former Governor Yahaya Bello has not been shown any fairness, which is a cardinal principle of law. He has not been
served with the notice of charges against him, or arraigned before a court of competent jurisdiction by the EFCC, but he has already been arraigned, tried, and convicted by the EFCC going by their utterances in the media and unnecessary display of executive drama."

Abdulrazak pointed out that the 1999 Constitution as Amended guarantees the innocence of an accused person until otherwise proven, but added that the EFCC, in the pursuit of its persecution of ex-Gov Bello, had thrown all caution to the wind and turned his botched arrest into a television and social media soap opera.

"This is being done to demonise him," he said.

The President of the Kogi Youths Association said, "We know that before an accused person is arraigned before a court for arraignment and trial, service of charges against him is usually the condition precedent, except where the accused person is on the run. Former Governor Yahaya Bello was not and has never been on the run. In fact, he has an active and running injunction from a court of competent jurisdiction that forbids EFCC from arresting him to which EFCC had appealed against in the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja until they recently withdrew it.

"It is the natural course of justice that once an appeal is pending before an appellate court, status quo ought to have been maintained until the appeal is determined, but EFCC in their zeal to prove that they were working as they ought to refused and neglected to obey the order of the court which constitutionally binds them and to which they as a matter of must, obey. But they in disobedience to competent court order disobeyed and laid siege to his house, thereby violating his right to privacy and other constitutionally guaranteed rights.

"We are also aware that before a Nigerian citizen is deprived of his property, both corporeal and incorporeal, an order of a court of competent jurisdiction must first be had and obtained.
In the instant case of Governor Yahaya Bello, EFCC, in their gestapo style, had forced the American International School to make a refund of nearly $800, 000(eight hundred thousand dollars) being the school fees of his children studying therein, which he paid in advance to avoid the inflation and fluctuations that go with Nigerian economy.

"This action of the EFCC has brought to and exposed the children to so much trauma and opprobrium because of the taunts and mockery they are being bombarded from their fellow classmates.

"We are in no way advocating against the trial of the former governor, and if found guilty, face the appropriate sanctions and punishments that go with it, but the anti corruption agency, which is the EFCC must as a matter of obedience to law, follow the procedures because any disobedience to our constitution and extant laws is a recipe for anarchy which is antithetical to
our constitutional democracy.

"We condemn in its entirety the involvement of those innocent children in whatever EFCC and the powers that be have against their parents. They should have never have been part of any witchunt by the Commission. Their actions against these children are in total violation of the Child's Rights Act of 2003."

Frontline Youth Groups in Nigeria staged a combined peaceful protest in Abuja on Tuesday, against what they termed a political colouration to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission's allegations against former Governor Yahaya Bello.

The youth groups, including the Yoruba Youth Council, Northern Youth Assembly of Nigeria, North Central Youth Council, All Progressives Congress Youth Ambassadors and APC National Students Forum, all called on the National Assembly and Attorney General of the Federation to call the EFCC to order and ensure due process is followed in the matter.

According to them, many Nigerians were not aware of the legal bottlenecks involved in the matter at the beginning, which clearly show that the former Governor was protected by the law and that the Commission acted in a hurry.

The youths, numbering over 1,000, stormed the National Assembly Gate, carrying placards with various inscriptions such as "Respect the rule of law", and "NYLC condemns media trial", among others.

National President, Yoruba Youth Council, Prince Ayodele Gbologe, said, "If the EFCC has a case against the former Governor, let them follow the normal procedure, not just following any backdoor to just arrest anybody or think of intimidating any Nigerian. There is rule of law. They should follow the rule of law. The Chairman of the EFCC calls himself a lawyer, the court has given an order, let them follow it. If they have any case against him, let them prosecute him. Not to be using EFCC to maltreat any Nigerian.

"Today, it is the case of Yahaya Bello; tomorrow, it can be me and it can be any other person. So we have to fight for the future of Nigeria. An organisation that has not been able to sanitize themselves. An organisation that has not been able to wash their dirty clothes. What happened to the former EFCC bosses? What we are saying is that they should follow due process in prosecuting anybody."

Rt. Hon Mahmoud Mohammed, who signed a statement on behalf of the Coalition of Youth Groups, said, "The Northern Youth Assembly of Nigeria (NYAN) condemns in strongest terms the continued harassment of His Excellency, Alh Yahaya Adoza Bello, the immediate past youthful and useful Governor of Kogi State. We are calling on the EFCC to respect the rule of law and not to make it a personal thing.

"The Commission should stop the ongoing media trial because it's derailing the mandate of the Organization and thereby making it a laughing stock before the international community.

"NYAN understands that since the Ebira People retained the Governorship Seat of Kogi State, the Opposition Party (SDP) has been sponsoring all kinds of attacks, using any means they can, against the immediate past Governor as the individual who hindered them from returning to Power in Kogi State.

"Hence, we call on EFCC to be careful, not to allow itself to be used, as the Commission has its name to protect. Alh Yahaya Adoza Bello has performed well as Govenor of Kogi State and his footprints are all over the State."

Other youths that addressed Journalists called on the Federal Government of Nigeria to stop all political victimization of Yahaya Bello and also condemned it.

Scores of Anti-Corruption Organisations have berated the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for flouting the Child's Rights Act by revealing details and identities of minors whose parents are being investigated over alleged corruption.

With specific reference to the case of the immediate past governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, whose children's names abd other details were reportedly made public by the EFCC, the anti-graft CSOs expressed shock, arguing that the commission had recklessly exposed the affected children to all manners of dangers.

Addressing a press conference in Lagos on Monday, the Anti-Corruption Organizations condemned the EFCC for not considering the safety and protection of the minors as required by both international and national laws, stressing that, "when minors are exposed to public and peer ridicule in the name of investigating their parents, no matter the allegations, such minors are automatically subjected to excruciating trauma that they don't deserve."

The press conference/protest was the fourth by the human rights crusaders since they began the struggle to demand that the rule of law prevails in the ex-Kogi Gov/EFCC face-off.

The Chairman of the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, Debo Adeniran, who led other activists, on a peaceful protest shortly after the press conference, said, "We are here today, as parents who have children in and out of school, to appeal to the conscience of this nation and those in authority. First, permit me to state unequivocally that I cannot see myself either now or at any point of my life to ever align with corrupt public officials or individuals no matter the remuneration or temptation. I can also say the same thing for my colleagues on this Coalition.

"We have passed such elementary stages of amenability to corrupt environment or people. We will continue to fight them and support antigraft agencies to do their jobs as constitutionally assigned to them by extant laws. We will continue to confront corruption with the same vehemence and resolve as we do against all forms of injustice.

"Make no mistakes about it, this struggle is beyond this Coalition or any individual. It is about saving the spirit and soul of our democracy and rule of law. We are convinced that where law and order are jettisoned under the excuse of political exigencies, society suffers irreparable injustice and damage due to the necessary anarchy that ensues from such a course of action.

"It is in this respect that we think that in the course of investigating and prosecuting corruption, special care must be taken to ensure that innocent minors are not dragged into what they know absolutely nothing about.

"Children cannot be made collateral victims of the alleged indiscretions of their parents even when proven. Law is about justice. Justice is about humanity. Humanity is about our common good as a people. When minors are exposed to public and peer ridicule in the name of investigating their parents, no matter the allegations, such minors are automatically subjected to excruciating trauma that they don't deserve.

"I know enough of child psychology to understand that in their vulnerable state, they may suffer irreversible trauma when subjected to undeserved pressures that destroy their self-esteem. Unfortunately, this is what we believe the recent action of the EFCC in putting the identities and details of minors whose parents are under investigation for alleged corruption in the case of Kogi State has caused those little kids."

"They do not deserve that kind of treatment no matter the sins of their parents. We believe that whatever would affect those children in the course of investigation are better left in the safe custody of the Court. And, this is what we have been saying ; that our courts must be respected and obeyed at all times! Let's always follow the due processes of law in law enforcement duties," the Coalition stated.

Quoting relevant sections of the laws that EFCC allegedly disregarded, it said, "Going public with all the details involving minors is a direct violation of Section 35 of the Child's Rights Act that prohibits ALL forms of harmful publication about a child.

"The mother of the Child's Rights Act is the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child of 1989. This convention passed most of the rules that were incorporated into the Child's Right Act in Nigeria.

The Child's Rights Act was passed in Nigeria in 2003 after lots of Government and Civil Society engagements. Section 277 of the Child's Rights Act defines a child as any person under the age of 18. This effectively nullifies the earlier law under the Children and Young Persons Act which defines a child as a person under the age of 14 years.

"Section I of the Child's Rights Act specifically provides that the BEST INTEREST of a child is to be of PARAMOUNT CONSIDERATION IN ALL ACTIONS. This is capitalized and underlined for emphasis. We do not believe that by releasing details of minors to the media, this section has been complied with. It has been violated, in our opinion

"Section 2 of the Child's Right Act provides that a child SHALL be given ALL protection and care for his well being. ALL. In the present case, the affected children have been recklessly exposed to all manners of danger by the Commission's action. Section 11 of the Child's Right Act provides that a child is entitled to the dignity of his person.

"Section 33 of the Child's Rights Act forbids anyone from any form of exploitation of a child. The EFCC can be said to be exploiting the transaction with the children for its media showmanship."

Meanwhile, the Coalition has demanded apologies from the Commission and the affected parents to the minors, noting that, "We make bold to say that the EFCC could have achieved its objectives without doing anything that could be viewed as attacking the sensibilities of these children under whatever guise."

The Coalition added, "We will restate here for the umpteenth time that EFCC should learn to stop sensationalizing its operations. It is not only counterproductive but seriously injurious to the anticorruption fight that the government is supposedly doing.


"To break the Child's Rights Act is to break a child's heart. We condemn such deliberate violation in its entirety. As a matter of fact, those children deserve public apologies from both the Commission and their parents and we shall see to that."

A Constitutional Lawyer, Ewa Okpo, has described the actions of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in the ongoing face-off with the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, as "trial by mischief".

In an interview on Arise TV's morning show on Saturday, the legal practitioner specifically stated that it was wrong, in the first instance, for the EFCC to attempt to arrest the former Governor when it was aware of a subsisting restraining order, which had not been vacated as of the time of its action.

He said the whole "drama" was centred around an abuse of court process.

“I think that it is a rather unfortunate narrative for Nigeria, and to summarize the whole of this drama in legal terms would be to just say, look, this is an abuse of the court process.

“Why do I say abuse of court process? To successfully prosecute anybody in Nigeria, in this case, the EFCC is prosecuting Yahaya Bello; there are six categories of laws that you must follow.

“The ground law being the Constitution, administration of Criminal Justice Act, the law that empowers the prosecutor, in this case, EFCC Act; the law that defines the offense and the punishment, in this case, Money Laundering Act; and then the law of the courts with jurisdiction.

''In this case, that would be the Federal High Court Act, Practice Directive, and the rest of it that guide proceedings at the Federal High Court, and, of course, the Evidence Act and other ancillary legislations.

''Now what is expected of the EFCC in this instance, where you follow all of these laws put together? They ought to have at first invited the suspect (officially), in the person of Mr Yahaya Bello; when he refuses to honor the invite; EFCC does not even need to get a warrant from the court; it is an administrative power to issue a warrant," he said.

According to him, in line with all the steps he enumerated, the EFCC failed to follow proper legal procedures in the matter.

''Sadly, you know, they rather attempted to arrest the man when they could not arrest him. Being smart, I must give it to Yahaya Bello; he got his lawyers, and they ran to the court and got an order restraining the EFCC.

''Now you must understand because I think that what the EFCC is trying to do now is what can be described as trial by mischief," he stated.

Okpo added that court orders restraining law enforcement agencies from harassing or arresting individuals should be respected and emphasized that such orders do not restrain the courts themselves.

He condemned the EFCC’s disregard for the court orders and stressed the need for accountability within law enforcement agencies.

Okpo also commended the court’s intervention, stressing that it served as a crucial check on the actions of law enforcement agencies and promoted adherence to the rule of law.

“Now, the EFCC is the watchdog. We need the EFCC to function in Nigeria. But in the course of them being the watchdog, who watches them? And so when there is an order, EFCC, you cannot correct wrong by doing wrong.

“Since there was an order restraining the EFCC, they had no business attempting to arrest Mr. Yahaya Bello,” he said.

Chieftains of the ruling All Progressives Congress have said that an unbiased assessment of the alleged media trial of the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission goings showcases grounds for strong suspicion of vendetta.

The Stakeholders, who spoke at a press conference in Abuja on Friday said, while the public was being misled into the erroneous impression that the EFCC was trying to fight corruption, "it is actually just a pretense in furtherance of a personal vendetta on behalf of, and, at the behest of persons in government intent on the bastardisation of our institutions of state."

Lawyer and Head of the Tinubu Media Support Group, Barrister Jesutega Onokpasa, while addressing the press, on behalf of on behalf of Concerned Chieftains, Stalwarts of the APC, stated, "We, concerned Chieftains, Stalwarts and Stakeholders of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, find certain pertinent issues emanating from the matter between the former Governor of Kogi State, Governor Yahaya Bello, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to be quite unfortunate, most disturbing and totally unacceptable in a nation governed by laws.

"Indeed, an unbiased assessment of the goings on in this matter profusely showcase grounds for strong suspicion that while the public is being misled into the erroneous impression that the EFCC is trying to fight corruption, it is actually just a pretense in furtherance of a personal vendetta on behalf of, and, at the behest of persons in government intent on the bastardisation of our institutions of state.

"The EFCC Chairman, in a most bizarre and utterly absurd approach to law enforcement, confessed to having offered former Governor Yahaya Bello the option of passing through the backdoor of the commission's headquarters for preferential treatment in the Chairman's own office!

"By the way, this highly irregular and unorthodox offer was made not vide a proper invitation in the contemplation of law but through the most irregular route of a mere phone call, according to the EFCC Chairman.

"In the midst of this show of shame, the EFCC Chairman then proceeded to appoint himself a judge, jury and executioner by transferring a case the agency he heads had purportedly filed in court to the court of public opinion, clearly in the hope of whipping up public sentiments against former Governor Yahaya Bello and unleashing mob justice on him.

"We find it most unprofessional and quite shameful that a lawyer would so brazenly seek to pervert the course of justice by preferring to litigate a matter before the legal court of law in the illegal court of public opinion.

A citizen in the position of former Governor Yahaya Bello, especially not being a lawyer, would naturally be suspicious of the gamut of shenanigans that have been machinated against him thus far and be quite apprehensive that his traducers have something else in mind that is totally different from their quite laughable public position that they are fighting corruption.

"It has been said that 'if you fight corruption, corruption will fight back' but this is clearly a case of corruption pretending to be fighting corruption.

"In short, it is clear that those intent on harming former Governor Yahaya Bello are so full of themselves as to appropriate our institutions of state for self-aggrandizement and the prosecution of their personal agenda rather than upholding the rule of law.

"Far from being a cherished agency we can rely on to rid our nation of corruption, the EFCC has only succeeded in thoroughly embarrassing our nation before the international community.

"This entire affair has become a mainstream media as well as a social media sensation and it is all thanks to the EFCC bungling its absurd pretense of having a case against former Governor Yahaya Bello.

"Seldom have we witnessed a more bewildering absurdity as the conduct of the EFCC in this matter.

We must protect our institutions from abuse and our government from ridicule.

"We most certainly do not condone corruption and both individually and collectively oppose it in all its ramifications.

"But weaponising an agency of government into an instrument of intimidation and deviating from its mandate, even to the extent of giving the highly disturbing impression that it has decomposed into a willing tool in the hands of people in power for the purpose of hounding their political enemies is a most heinous form of corruption.

"Former Governor Yahaya Bello is most certainly not above the law but so also is the EFCC, any other agency of government and, even the government, itself, not above the law.

"The EFCC is certainly not fighting corruption in this instance.

You do not properly invite a man; you said you called him on the phone offering to smuggle him through the backdoor; you do not inform another court of coordinate jurisdiction that you have been restrained from arresting, arraigning or prosecuting him; you brazenly engage in forum shopping; you proceed in gestapo fashion to carry out an illegal arrest; you secretly file an appeal out of time; you then withdraw that appeal quietly only for news of that withdrawal to filter out days later; clearly realising you do not have a case, you proceed to tarnish the reputation of a citizen you claim to have a case to answer by calling a press conference most unbecoming of a lawyer, public official and government agency!

"You try to tarnish the reputation of a sitting Governor by accusing him of smuggling his predecessor from a private residence only for you to admit that you were actually the one who offered to smuggle him through the backdoor into your office at the headquarters of a government agency!

What a show of shame!

We fight corruption according to law and we subject any person of interest pertaining thereto to the due process of law in a court of law.

"Instructively, the party that has placed himself under the law and authority of the courts in this matter is former Governor Yahaya Bello, who has painstakingly and consistently followed the law.

"On the other hand, the EFCC, in its usual manner, has insisted on deploying patently unlawful and unbecoming approaches to this matter, indeed in a manner most contrary to the rule of law and one that is most unacceptably disrespectful to the Judiciary.

"The rule of law must always prevail because without the law, we would not have a society and without courts, we would not have a civilisation.

Barr. Jesutega Onokpasa,

For and Stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

The Kogi State High Court in Lokoja has issued a summon for Ola Olukoyede, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to appear in court on May 13, 2024.

This directive stems from allegations of disregarding a court order.

Olukoyede faces a contempt charge for allegedly violating a court order issued on February 9, 2024, restraining the EFCC from certain actions pending the determination of a substantive Originating Motion.

Justice I. A. Jamil, in Suit No: HCL/68M/2024 and Motion No: HCL/190M/2024, ruled that the EFCC's actions amounted to contempt as they contravened a valid and subsisting court order.

EFCC operatives had laid siege on the residence of the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, as early as 8am on April 17, 2024, with a bid to arrest him, despite a court order restraining them from taking such action, pending the determination of the Originating Motion.

Justice Jamil's order was based on a motion ex-parte filed by Yahaya Bello through his lawyer, M.S. Yusuf, Esq, where he prayed the court
for an order to issue and serve the Respondent (EFCC Chairman) with Form 49 Notice to show cause why Order of committal should not be made on Olukoyede.

Having listened to the arguments of the Applicant's counsel, the submission and exhibits attached in the Written Address, Justice Jamil granted Yahaya Bello's prayers and ordered Olukoyede to be summoned to appear before the court to answer the contempt charge.

Delivering his order on the motion on April 25, 2024, Justice Jamil said, "The applicant's application before me is to the effect that the Respondent has carried out some acts upon which they have been restrained by this Court on the 9th of February, 2024, pending the determination of the substantive motion on Notice before this Court.

"That the said act was carried out by the Respondent in violation of the order which was valid and subsisting when they carried out those acts. That same acts of the Respondent amounts to acts of contempt.

"That the Respondent should be summoned to appear before this Court to answer to the contempt charge.

"It's against the above facts that this Court hereby grants the prayers sought in line with the principle of "Audi Ultra Patem". To wit:

"An order of this Honourable Court for the issuance of Form 49 Notice to show cause why order of committal should not be made against the Executive Chairman of the Respondent - Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

"An order for service of Form 49-Notice to show why order of committal should not be made on the Executive Chairman of the Respondent - Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at EFCC Corporate Headquarters, Plot 301/302, Research and Institution District, Abuja.

"This matter is adjourned to the 13th of May, 2024 for the Respondent's Chairman to appear before this Court in answer to form 49 ordered to be served on him."

The media office representing the former Governor of Kogi State has countered the assertions made by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) regarding the attendance of the governor's children at the American International School in Abuja.

In a statement released on Friday by Ohiare Michael, the office clarified that Yahaya Bello did not make payments of USD720,000 or USD840,000, as claimed by the EFCC Chairman or circulated on the internet, respectively.

The statement partly read, “On Tuesday, 23rd April 2024, Mr. Olanipekun Olukoyede, in a conduct which we view as unbecoming of a Legal Practitioner, organised a press conference where he alleged (amongst other outrightly defamatory statements) that His Excellency, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, withdrew cash from the Kogi State Government Account, sent same to Bureau De Change Operators and then used same to pay the school fees of his children in advance.

According to Olukoyede, the payment was made just about the time the former Governor was to leave office.

Since the said press conference, receipts of payments of the said fees bearing the names of His Excellency’s Children and those of other family members, who separately paid their fees, have been flying all over the internet.

While we reserve our rights to seek redress against the said defamatory statements, permit us to briefly state the following for the purpose of setting the records straight:

“His Excellency, Yahaya Bello's children have attended the American International School, Abuja well before he became Governor and he has paid fees for his children as and when due and without fail.

“When the EFCC approached the American International School Abuja (AISA) to illegally recover funds legitimately paid by Alhaji Yahaya Bello and other family members, a member of the family challenged the EFCC’s unlawful acts to recover funds legitimately paid. The FCT High Court, in Suit No. FCT/HC/2574/2023 between: Mr. Ali Bello v. The Incorporated Trustees of American International School, Abuja, held that AISA could not lawfully and unilaterally refund to a third party, including the EFCC, fees paid by the parties to the suit.”

“Now, let it be known that, contrary to misleading narratives by the EFCC, all the documents published online i.e. receipts and letters, that the EFCC has released online, in furtherance of its unrelenting persecution of the former Governor, are documents filed by lawyers in the suit instituted on behalf of Alhaji Yahaya Bello and others who paid fees for their wards under the Advance Fee Payment Agreement with AISA. 

Those documents, having been filed by his lawyers, are thus public documents, which shows that his Excellency, Yahaya Bello, has nothing to hide with regard to the payment of advance fees for his children. This unending harassment and persecution, even while in office, were among key reasons he sought to enforce his fundamental human rights.” 

“We state that the payment of these fees and the legitimacy thereof is the subject matter of Charge No. FHC/CR/573/2022, filed by the EFCC since 15th December 2022 at the Federal High Court, Abuja. The Charge is pending and the Court has yet to make any finding or convicted anyone in respect of the said sum” 

“It is imperative to remind Mr. Olukoyede, who is a Lawyer, that once parties have submitted a dispute to the Court, they are to shun all actions and statements that may prejudice the hearing of the matter or the mind of the Court” 

“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.”

A philanthropist, Akintayo Akintunde, has congratulated the Ondo state governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, over his victory at the just concluded governorship primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.

Akintayo who recently empowered over 300 women in Ile-oluji area of Ondo State, congratulated Aiyedatiwa in a statement made available to journalists in Akure, the state capital.

The Ile-oluji born Philanthropist also urged Aiyedatiwa to approach the upcoming general election with assurance, emphasizing the importance of fostering connections and unity for the challenges ahead.

The statement read, “I extend warmest congratulations to Governor Aiyedatiwa on his emergence as the All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial candidate. His dedication and commitment to the welfare of the people have been evident throughout his tenure, and we are confident that he will continue to serve with excellence.

“As we look forward to the November 2024 election, I urge Governor Aiyedatiwa to be rest assured of our unwavering support. His leadership has brought about positive changes, and we have full confidence that he will emerge as the victor, propelled by the trust and faith of the electorate.

"We stand united in our belief in Governor Aiyedatiwa's vision for a prosperous and inclusive future for our state, and we pledge our continued support as he embarks on this journey towards reelection”, Akintunde said.

'EFCC boss should be held in contempt of court'

Hundreds of Civil Society Organisations took to the streets in Lagos on Wednesday to protest "the continued disrespect for the rule of law and undue harassment of a citizen of Nigeria" by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The activists condemned the fact that the EFCC chairman failed to provide any documentary evidence of an official invitation sent to former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, yet the Commission declared him wanted and had subjected him to "unprecedented and reckless media trials despite a subsisting Court order which protected him at the time they laid a siege on his residence."

They alleged that the EFCC-Bello saga appeared like a case of selective hatred targeted at an individual for no concrete cause.

The movement, led by the Chairman of the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, Debo Adeniran, many frontline Anti-Corruption and human rights crusaders, said this in Lagos.

The activists addressed a press conference before staging a protest rally.
Adeniran called on the younger ones in the mix to rise up and become activists if they were not acitivists already, saying that a society where fundamental human rights were not obeyed and rule of law broken by enforcement agencies could not stand the test of time.

The activists said it was sad that the agency had so much thrown away professionalism but playing to the gallery on a daily basis without any legal substance other than the threats and application of brute state force, irrespective of what the court says.

They said they would be in the struggle for as long as it would take the EFCC to follow due process, alleging that, from the consistent attack on Bello, despite being protected by the law, his life might be in danger.

The human rights crusaders lambasted the Chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, saying that his pronouncement on Tuesday, where he admitted, during an interview with journalists in Abuja, that he put a call through to the former governor, was a clear evidence that EFCC did not formally invite Bello regarding the accusation.

Condemning the Commission for its alleged penchant for disregarding due processes of law, the civil groups pointed out that the approach by the anti-graft agency was becoming alarming, and that EFCC should be held in contempt of court for disobeying court order.

The coalition said, "The statement of the EFCC Chairman yesterday (Tuesday) whereby he admitted that he put a call through to the former Governor is a clear testimony that the EFCC never formally invited the man.

"The EFCC chairman failed woefully to provide any documentary evidence of an official invitation sent to Yahaya Bello, yet you declared him wanted and have subjected him to unprecedented and reckless media trials despite a subsisting Court order not to harass him.

"It is the exact protection of the court that he sought that the EFCC has wantonly broken multiple times. How do you now expect him to entrust himself to the custody of an agency that has so much thrown away professionalism but playing to the gallery on a daily basis without any legal substance other than the threats and application of brute state force irrespective of what the court says.

"A bad order or ruling or injunction or even judgment can be vacated, appealed, and upturned on the merit of the case by a superior Court. But, until that is done, the subsisting order or ruling must be respected and obeyed. As at when they laid siege at 8am and everyone watched live, that interim order was still subsisting.

"In essence, the EFCC has not only disobeyed a lawful Court order but has broken it and, therefore, stands in contempt and must be treated as such. There are no two ways about it.

"We are not lawyers, but we understand the rudimentary processes of adjudication which unequivocally states that a yet unvacated order stands effective until vacated. We also know that both state and federal High Courts are of coordinate jurisdiction. But we've heard lawyers moved by emotions and not the letter and spirit of law argue that because Yahaya Bello got a restraining order on the EFCC from a Kogi State High Court, that order is untenable. Sometimes you wonder why some lawyers approbate and reprobate at the same time."

"The continuing threats of violence in apprehending the former Governor is uncalled for. All you need do is vacate your restraining order and invite the man. If he doesn't show up, at that point you can get him arrested. But as of the time of the siege, no formal invitation had been extended to him," the CSOs added.

Engr. Tunji Light Ariyomo, an aspirant who was excluded from the APC Guber primary election due to internal issues between the APC's Election Organising Committee and the National Organising Secretary over extension of sales of forms, has congratulated Hon. Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, the winner of the 2024 Ondo State APC Governorship primary election.

Ariyomo who paid the required N50 million nomination and expression of interest forms to contest the primary on Friday the 5th of April 2024 was however never screened alongside the others as the office of the National Organising Secretary did not acknowledge the 2-day extension despite the press statement issued to proclaim same by Felix Morka, the party’s spokesperson, who announced the extension on Thursday 4th of April 2024 in a published statement which is yet to be retracted.

When asked if he would sue the party over the exclusion, Ariyomo responded that "not at all. Suing is out of it. I, Olatunji Ariyomo, will not obstruct a process that has been successfully concluded"

"Rather, I congratulate the winner, Hon. Aiyedatiwa. I also commend other aspirants for their doggedness".

He added that "The incumbent Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa has won this round in every department of the game. The party should reconcile and forge ahead to be able to win the general election. That's the next stage".

Ariyomo further explained that "I concede that we are not practicing American type direct primary yet. That's the dream of people like me. I also concede that we can't get their type of outcome from our type of processes. But everybody on that ballot that day also knew these facts. So, I plead for understanding and the reconciliation of those that are aggrieved. November is just by the corner".

. Say FG's drastic actions suggest issue is political, beyond corruption

. Alert FG, public to imminent threats to ex-Gov's life

. Describe issue of evading arrest as deliberate misinformation

. Issuing military action threat by EFCC anti-democratic, violation of courtroom sanctity

Hundreds of human rights activists, on Saturday, hit the streets of Lagos to condemn what they described as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission's antidemocratic approaches to issues of law enforcement as well as unjust application of state power by the Federal Government.

The Anti-Corruption Civil Society Organisations, numbering over 120, along with a huge crowd of members and supporters, stressed that the actions of the Federal Government in the ongoing face-off between the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, which took an ugly dimension during the week, suggested that the bone of contention was beyond the EFCC exercising its constitutional responsibility.

According to them, from the facts and documents obtained on the matter, the EFCC never sent a letter of invitation to ex-Gov Bello.

The issue of evading arrest, they said, did not therefore exist.

"Someone who was never invited, who has a valid court order restraining his arrest and harassment, among other reliefs, until the determination of the court case, could not be said to be evading arrest. It is deliberate misinformation to turn the public against the Governor," they said.

The anti-corruption activists and human rights crusaders, specifically condemned the military action threat by an EFCC lawyer, saying that, issuing "such a threat before a judge and inside a court was a violation of the sanctity of the courtroom."

The Chairman of the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, Debo Adeniran, who led other activists during the protest on Saturday, noted that the ongoing disregard for the rule of law was not only about Yahaya Bello.

"We don't know who the next victim will be," he said.

"If the FG continues in its iniquitous way of trampling on the rule of law by undermining our judicial system, we will mobilise a much larger number of Nigerians to join this pro-democracy struggle. It concerns all Nigerians because we don't know who the next victim may be," Adeniran said.

He called on the Federal Government to first obey all the court orders preceding their own actions in court and then go ahead to vacate them through due processes of law.

"There is no point in endangering anyone's life unnecessarily because that's the situation we believe that Yahaya Bello is in now. If the government doesn't handle this matter carefully, it may shoot itself on the foot and put all Nigerians in collective injury," the activists said.

The activists warned that Government should not instigate anarchy, insisting that democracy is governed by the rule of law and not the rule of force.

They pointed out that some of them had been in the trenches for over four decades without comprising their stand on justice.

"Thirty-one years ago when we organized to confront the military for the annulment of the June 12 election by General Ibrahim Babangida's junta, it was for the cause of justice.

"Nobody paid us a dime to organize the anti-SAP protests of 1989 that nearly shut down the entire country.

"We have organised or participated in many altruistic struggles. In the course of these selfless struggles, many of us were jailed, many were maimed, a lot lost their lives on the battlefield of the fight for justice. But we have remained undettered till date. Ours is thankless sacrifice for humanity. But we are not complaining.

"We have been on the side of the EFCC in many cases without gratification or prompting. But on this case, we insist that the EFCC is disregarding the rule of law and creating room for anarchy. And this must not be allowed to stand," they stated.

The anti-graft CSOs stated, "Our intervention today is to ensure that each side in the ongoing but avoidable tension between the Federal Government through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the immediate former Governor of Kogi State gets the justice that is deserved - both the agency and the suspect.

"We feel that it was totally unnecessary to threaten military action in a civil case because it may escalate beyond proportions and cause devastating even if unintended consequences as being suggested by the EFCC through their lawyer.

"We are hearing now that some citizens of Kogi State are already saying that the FG would be held responsible if anything untoward happens to their former Governor."

"If the FG insists on inviting the military to intervene in a civil case involving a citizen, it is better they return power to the military so that we know that we are back to ground zero. It is now very clear to all Nigerians that this Yahaya Bello's saga is far from being about corruption. Come to think of it, how do you accuse a man of stealing an amount that the combined total of its IGR and Federal allocation for two years is not even up to? Why is the FG fishing for chicken inside a river? It doesn't live there," one of Nigeria's lead activists, Gbenga Soloki, said.

"If anyone doubts our determination to continue fighting for justice on this matter, they should wake up and smell the coffee. We will not relent and neither will we retreat until justice is not only done but seen in this Yahaya Bello's case. We won't stop," a spokesperson for the Coalition of Anti-Corruption Civil Society Organisations Olufemi Lawson, added.

. Say 'rush to arrest ex-Kogi Gov despite pending Appeal Court hearing suggests political persecution'

. Warn against 'breaking a law to enforce another'

Anti-Corruption Civil Society Organisations have advised the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission not to desecrate the courts in the course of carrying out its constitutional role of fighting corruption.

The CSOs and human rights crusaders cautioned the EFCC and other anti-graft agencies against trampling on the rights of supposed suspects of corruption in order to avoid breaking a law to enforce another law.

The activists, who spoke at an emergency press briefing in Lagos on Thursday, noted specifically that the recent public face-off between the EFCC and a former Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello in Abuja, was "both unnecessary and unfortunate."

The Executive Chairman of the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL), who addressed the press, suggested that the rush
by the EFCC to make an arrest, when the Court of Appeal hearing on its application to vacate the restraining order was just in a few days, might give credence to allegations of political persecution.

“Mr. Olukoyede is my friend. But if he begins to trample on the rule of law, then that’s the terminal point of our friendship,” Adeniran said.

The CSOs noted that the EFCC's action on Wednesday was "tantamount to the agency preempting the outcome of its appeal and also violating a subsisting and valid court order to pause action pending the determination of the case before it."

"Our layman's understanding is that a Court of coordinate jurisdiction cannot assume superiority over another," they noted.

Gbenga Soloki of the Centre Against Injustice and Domestic Violence, who also spoke, said civil societies in Nigeria would protest vehemently against any attempt to use the military to arrest an individual who had not been accused of treason.

“It is extremely disappointing to hear this afternoon that EFCC is threatening to involve the military in their desperation to forcefully or violently arrest an individual who has not been alleged of treason.

"Should that happen, we will be a laughing stock globally. Civil society will be active in protesting against such unforgivable infraction on our democracy should it happen as threatened. It should better not happen,” he said.

Adeniran stated, "We do not consider Yahaya Bello a saint, but even the devil deserves his rights under the law. Court documents at our disposal show that the former Governor had obtained a High Court restraining order on the EFCC not to arrest or prosecute him pending the determination of a case of the enforcement of his fundamental human rights, which the Commission has rightfully appealed with the intention of vacating.

“The Commission has done very well up to this point following the due processes of law because without vacating that order, it cannot proceed with arresting the suspect.

“According to available court documents, hearing on the appeal has been slated to come up on Monday April 22nd in Abuja. However, suddenly yesterday (Wednesday) the news of the foiled arrest of the former Governor by the Commission went viral. One would have expected the Commission to wait for the determination of its own appeal before going after the suspect.

“We think it is an abuse of court processes to ignore a court order still on appeal at the instance of the Commission and to obtain a warrant of arrest from another court on the same suspect."

The CSOs urged the EFCC to fight, prevent and prosecute corruption cases strictly within the ambit of the law set up to regulate the interaction between them and corruption suspects.

They noted that laws, including the Nigerian criminal justice system regulations and court processes, were meant to be obeyed non-selectively by both state and non-state actors.

The CSOs recalled that when the current Chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, came on board last year, one of his promises was to operate strictly within the rule of law.

“For those who are likely to misinterpret this intervention as it is their regular trademark, this goes beyond Yahaya Bello. Injustice to anyone should not be allowed to stand because it may be your turn tomorrow,” they noted.

The activists therefore urged the EFCC to revert to status quo antebellum pending the determination of its appeal and a vacation of the restraining order placed on it, saying “that is the way and dictate of the law.”

The press conference was attended by Comrades Debo Adeniran, Executive Chairman, Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership CACOL); Sina Loremikan, (Campaign Against Impunity); Declan Ihekhaire, (Activists for Good Governance); Gbenga Soloki, CADOV; Ochiaga Ohaneze, (Ohaneze Youth Council); Funmi Jolade, (Women Democratic Vanguard); Kola Abe, (Centre for Socioeconomic Rights); Ologun Ayodeji, (Transparency and Accountability Group); Femi Lawson, (Centre for Public Accountability) and Gbenga Ganzallo (Media Rights Campaign), among others.

Activists and Civil Society Organizations have urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to caution the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against portraying Nigeria as a lawless society.

They expressed concern that a law enforcement agency is being manipulated by politicians, deviating from its intended purpose.

The Coalition for Democracy and Justice, representing about 60 CSOs, conveyed this message during an emergency press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday.

They cited the disregard for a valid court order, which restrained the arrest, prosecution, and harassment of the former Governor of Kogi State, pending the resolution of a fundamental rights enforcement action.

"It would be a sad day for democracy and the EFCC would have succeeded in turning itself into a law-breaking Commission that deserves to face the full weight of judicial retribution," they warned.

According to them, one of the strongest threats to democracy is "when the rule of law is compromised in the service of crude politicking and personal score-settling plus other dark interests."

The Convener, Barrister Ojo Olukayode, who addressed the press, alerted President Tinubu on why he and his genuine supporters "must take exceptional care not to fall victim of the shenanigans of crude politicians whose main objective is to derail his beautiful Renewed Hope agenda with their desperate plots to turn the President into a proxy to fight their dirty political war."

He said it was important to advise the EFCC not to make itself susceptible to any action that might be deemed as violating the sanctity of the judiciary.

"They must ignore the antics of all those who are urging them to commit contempt of Court through disregarding an outstanding Court order against the arrest and prosecution of former Governor Yahaya Bello or any of his aides, pending the determination of the case in court in that regard as instituted by the lawyers of the former Governor," he added.

The activists stated, "The Commision must deliberately avoid the temptation of falling under the pressure of disgruntled political elements by breaking the law in their actions to uphold the law. All of those concerned must follow the due processes of law by abiding by subsisting Court orders.

"We do sincerely hope that the EFCC, as a law-abiding agency, would see through the poorly veiled ignoble actions of those undesirable political elements and refuse to act illegally. But our optimism may be short-lived as, in vagrant disregard to that Court order which the Commission has appealed and pending for hearing on Monday 22nd April, the EFCC may be in the process of effecting the illegal arrest of the former Governor.

"If this happens, it would be a sad day for democracy and the EFCC would have succeeded in turning itself into a law-breaking Commission that deserves to face the full weight of judicial retribution."

The CSOs called on the President to ignore and rebuff all attempts by political jobbers to influence him to move against one of his most dependable allies.

"Their voices of blackmail and wicked, false allegations may be loud, but truth remains constant and justice shall prevail ultimately. As Nigerians, we cannot allow hatred and injustice to win," they declared.

The Coalition for Democracy and Justice is a Committee of activists and Civil Society Organizations that concern themselves with issues of justice as they affect individuals, organizations and corporate entities as well as maintaining vigilance to forestall anything that may threaten our democracy as a nation.