The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it has started to investigate the fraud allegation leveled against Kogi State government and Governor Yahaya Bello.
In a letter signed by the EFCC’s Director of Operations, Abdulkarim Chukkol, and seen by Peoples Gazette, the anti-graft agency said it received a petition filed against Mr Bello and certain officials of his government.
A non-governmental organisation, Anti-Corruption Network, on March 1, filed the petition against the governor, on claims that it uncovered huge financial fraud carried out in the state.
In a copy of the petition shared on Twitter by former Kogi senator, Dino Melaye, the organisation detailed the allegations of financial mismanagement and corruption by Mr Bello, a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The governor was said to have awarded contracts to non-legal persons, even so without due process.
According to Mr Melaye, the petition was also submitted to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), U.S. embassy, British High Commission and Transparency International.
A part of the petition read: “We have meticulously investigated and uncovered huge financial fraud carried out by Kogi State Government, the Governor of Kogi State and his Cohorts from 2016 – 2019, ranging from award of contracts to non-legal persons, award of contracts without due process, circumvention of procurement procedures, suspicious payments made without specific breakdown, money laundering, borrowing from non-capital market, fraudulent loan, and many others.”
The organisation further urged the new EFCC chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, to use his “good office and cause a further investigation on this matter and bring the perpetrators to book.”
The EFCC, in the letter dated March 26, summoned the group for an interview on March 31 at its headquarters in Abuja.
The spokesperson for the anti-graft agency, Wilson Uwujaren, however, did not respond to a call seeking his comment on the investigation.
