The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ola Olukoyede has disclosed that he made personal efforts to invite a former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello to respond to investigations regarding his alleged involvement in money laundering to the tune of N80,246,470,089.88 (Eighty Billion, Two Hundred and Forty Six Million, Four Hundred and Seventy Thousand and Eighty Nine Naira, Eighty Eight Kobo).
On Tuesday, April 23, 2024, Olukoyede made this statement to media executives at the EFCC Corporate Headquarters in Abuja. He claimed to have spoken with Bello over the phone, who gave him plenty of chances to appear in person for questioning by EFCC agents.
“On my honour, I put a call to him to honour him as a former governor. He said, I can’t come, claiming that a certain lady has surrounded the EFCC with over 100 Journalists to embarrass or intimidate him and all that stuff. I said if that is your fear, I will make you come directly to my floor. I will invite my operatives to interrogate you in my own office. What could be more honourable than that? Do you know what he said? ‘ Can’t they come to my village?’ My Director of Investigations also sent a message to him”, he said.
The EFCC’s boss said he was worried at the report of larceny available to the EFCC concerning the former governor. “A sitting governor, because he knew he was going, he moved money directly from the government’s account to a bureau de change to pay his children’s school fees in advance, $720, 000 in anticipation that he was going to leave government house”, he said.
Olukoyede also revealed that the EFCC has discovered a new fraudulent scheme known as the P to P, peer to peer trading scheme, as part of its efforts to guarantee the security and stability of the foreign exchange market. He claims that the site operates outside of the recognized banking and financial channels, and the EFCC has already frozen more than 300 (three hundred) of the accounts connected to it.
He underlined the Commission’s dedication to the nation’s economic development and progress, vowing that the EFCC would not waver in the execution of its duty. He informed the media executives that in just six months, the Commission had won more than 1300 convictions and collected more than N120 billion from scammers.
He called on Nigerians to be more dedicated to the nation, insisting that patriotic Nigerians should offer more support to the EFCC because the Commission is crucial to the growth and development of Nigeria. ‘’If you support the EFCC, you are working for the growth of Nigeria. We all have stakes in the wellbeing of our nation”, he said.