Certain civil society organizations have criticized what they labeled as the anti-democratic methods employed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in its law enforcement actions against former Kogi governor, Yahaya Bello.
This development occurred after the EFCC issued a notice declaring Bello wanted for his alleged involvement in a case of money laundering totaling N80.2 billion. It further criticized the Federal Government for the unjust exercise of state power.
The troubled former governor was added to the watch list of the Nigerian Immigration Service, and all police officers assigned to him were subsequently withdrawn by the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun.
However, over 120 civil society organizations, accompanied by their members and supporters, rallied in the streets of Lagos on Saturday to challenge the actions of the Federal Government in the ongoing confrontation between the EFCC and the former governor.
The press conference was led by the Chairman of the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, Debo Adeniran; Sina Loremikan (Campaign Against Impunity), Declan Ihekhaire (Activists for Good Governance), Gbenga Soloki (CADOV), Ochiaga Ohaneze (Ohaneze Youth Council) and Funmi Jolade (Women Democratic Vanguard).
Others present were 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.
Speaking on the issue, Adeniran pointed out that the EFCC did not send a letter of invitation to Bello, thus the allegation that he evaded an arrest does not 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.
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“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 noted.
The activist also called on the Federal Government to first obey all the court orders preceding their actions in court and then go ahead to vacate them through due process 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 in the foot and put all Nigerians in collective injury.
“We have been on the side of the EFCC in many cases without gratification or prompting. But in 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,” Adeniran added.
Additionally, Gbenga Soloki, a prominent activist among the group, expressed that if the federal government persists in summoning the military to intercede in a civil matter concerning a citizen, they ought to relinquish authority to the military, signaling a regression to the starting point.