By Hillary Asemota
As part of the build up to the efforts of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) to bring the former Governor of kogi State, Alh. Yahaya Bello to justice and to answer allegations of embezzlement of over N84 billion leveled against him, the Kogi State Forum of Concerned Citizens on Monday called on the Inspector General of Police (IG), Mr. Kayode Egbetokun, to redeploy the kogi State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Bertrand Onuoha.
The Forum said this has become expedient to forestall further damages to the image of the Nigeria police force and misuse of her personnel to obstruct justice as was seen in Abuja recently.
Addressing a cross section of Kogi State indigenes and journalists in Abuja, the former Deputy Governor of the State, Elder Simon Achuba, while fielding questions from the media, accused Onuoha of confessing to extrajudicial killings of innocent kogites at the behest of former Governor Yahaya Bello.
He said: “Again, he is using the police personnel attached to former Governor Yahaya Bello to prevent his arrest by sister law enforcement agencies.
The forum, urged all kogites to unite and fight the scourge of corruption from our body polity, adding that our brothers and sisters in kogi Central and West will recall that the several months of nonpayment of salaries, nonexistence infrastructure and decay in health and education affected all of us.
“Hence, we should all support the EFCC in their efforts to recover our common patrimony from our looter in Alhaji Yahaya Bello and his clans of corrupt acolytes.
“That Governor Ododo should return to kogi State to provide leadership and governance instead of using his security personnel attached to him to protect Yahaya Bello to evade justice.”
Achuba, while berating the continuous payment of salaries of personal staff of Yahaya Bello from the state coffers, said it is an abuse of office adding that the former governor’s days of reckoning and accountability will soon be at hand.
The former Deputy Governor, called on the state judiciary to join the war against corruption, stop the perversion of justice vide issuance of frivolous injunctions on matters beyond their jurisdiction and stop being an embarrassment to itself in her quest to please the state governor whose only interest in governance is plundering the state resources for personal benefits.
He said: “That the state legislature had driven itself to oblivion occasioned by avarice of her members thereby neglecting their oversight functions and aiding the Governor to plunder the state.
“The members of the state assembly are number one happy slaves of the state. That members of the state assembly should live up to their responsibilities and ensure separation of powers by acting as checks and balances on the excesses of the Executive instead of being a mere puppet in the hands of the Governor.
“We promise to continue to address issues from time to time as matters unfold. We commend the press for resisting continually the attempts of the Kogi state government in blocking news items.
“We advise the kogi State government to always come forward and state their own side of the case instead of wasting kogi resources in an attempt to block news items. Kogi state government should note that, it is a folly in the social media era to think of blocking or suppressing news.”
The Forum regrettably noted the arrogant resistance to arrest put forward by Former Governor Yahaya Bello which tallies with his posturing and crass behavior that he is above the law and can do and undo in all situations and believing that he can always buy anyone in Nigeria as long as he maintain his umbilical cord to Kogi State treasury.
Achuba, said: “The Forum further noted the disgraceful actions of Nigeria Police officers attached to Alhaji Yahaya Bello by forcefully preventing the EFCC from performing her lawful duties and draw the attention of Inspector General of Police to our previous press releases concerning the activities of kogi state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Bertrand Onuoha , who has subjugated law and order in the state to the whims and caprices of Yahaya Bello.”