The Forum of Amalgamated Unions of Concerned Kogi Citizens has called on the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, to checkmate the shopping of judgements and granting of conflicting injunctions by some judges handling corruption cases.
The forum made the call on Monday during a World Press Conference to address issues of national importance in Nigeria and the international community, focussing on democracy, the rule of law, and human rights.
The spokeswoman of the forum, Mr. David Ehimony, while addressing the press, said in the last three years, it has become obvious that the anti-graft agency is in a hurry to persecute the former governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, based on the following inconsistent actions, which have exposed the Commission’s mischiefs:
“The EFCC told the whole world in August 2021 that the N20 billion bailout fund meant for Kogi workers had been diverted into a private account. The commission secured an order of a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos to freeze Kogi State salary bailout account domiciled in Sterling Bank Plc over a ₦20 billion loan allegedly obtained from the bank.
“Justice Tijjani Ringim granted the order to freeze the account pending the conclusion of the investigation or possible prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
However, he said both the Sterling Bank and the Kogi State Commissioner for Finance debunked the EFCC’s claims as the allegations were totally untrue. Instead of admitting its error, EFCC published another falsehood on its official social media pages that the bailout fund had been returned to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). After Kogi State Government sued EFCC and demanded N35 billion in damages, the commission quietly withdrew the case in court.
He noted that it is an open secret that Kogi has been subjected repeatedly to second-class status when it comes to governance at the national level.
His words, “Kogi state is often overlooked or practically denied when certain positions are zoned to the North Central geopolitical zone. Is it accidental that Kogi has never produced a Senate President or Deputy Senate President in the National Assembly? Even when these positions were zoned to North Central? The same can be said of Speakership and Deputy Speakership positions in the House of Representatives.
“Moreso, in terms of project execution and provision of critical infrastructure, Kogi is never considered a state of priority, even though it links the South to the North in Nigeria.
The forum therefore called on His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR to come to their aid, stressing that the same former Governor Yahaya Bello made sacrifices and challenged vested interests by insisting on the APC presidential primary election to elect an APC candidate in 2023.
“Without this primary election, Mr. President might not have been President today based on conspiracies against his candidature. The President should come to our aid in ensuring that professionalism is applied to the prosecution of former Governor Yahaya Bello instead of the ongoing persecution, as we have noticed the hands of Jacob and Voice of Esau in the scheme of things.
“We are very much concerned about the persecution, intimidation, and harassment of Yahaya Bello because, as a governor, he worked in collaboration with various security agencies, tackled insecurity frontally, and made our dear state one of the most secure states in the country. We cannot turn our backs on such a leader who has left lasting legacies in the annals of our dear state.
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