Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has said that the police cannot help the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrest Yahaya Bello, former governor of Kogi State, because he is getting protection from his successor Usman Ododo who enjoys immunity from investigation and prosecution.
Onanuga stated this during an interview on the Sunday edition of Inside Sources with Laolu Akande on Channels TV.
The EFCC is accusing Bello of N80.2 billion fraud. While the case is in court, Bello has not presented himself to take his plea.
Onanuga said, when asked why police authorities can’t order orderlies attached to Ododo to arrest Bello, “I think it’s a bit complicated. The EFCC is an agency of the Federal Government, and it wants to arrest Yahaya Bello. Yahaya Bello is hiding under the agbada (flowing robe) of the governor of Kogi State, his (Bello’s) successor, who happens to enjoy immunity.
“That’s the problem because if he (Bello) stays inside Governor Ododo’s house, the police cannot do anything because they will be violating that immunity that the man enjoys.
“It’s like a diplomat enjoying certain immunity, you cannot do anything about it. You remember in the UK when they were looking for the Wikileaks man and he went to hide in one embassy in Britain, there was nothing they (security agents) could do, they left him there. I think he later came out and they arrested him.
“It’s the same thing. Ododo enjoys immunity. Yahaya Bello is believed to be hiding there. They cannot storm the place and say they want to arrest him. That’s the problem of the EFCC, and the police cannot help the EFCC.”
