Court grants Yahaya Bello N500m bail

Alhaji Yahaya Bello, the immediate former governor of Kogi State, was granted N500 million bail by the Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday, along with two sureties of the same amount. 

According to the court's decision, which was delivered by trial Justice Emeka Nwite, the sureties had to be Abuja real estate owners. 

Justice Nwite ordered the sureties to swear to an affidavit of means in addition to instructing them to tender the properties' title documents, which the Deputy Chief Registrar of the court must verify. The court has mandated that the sureties and the defendant provide their most recent passport photos.

Additionally, it mandated that the former governor give up his foreign passport and refrain from leaving the nation without authorisation. The defendant should stay at Kuje jail until the bail requirements are perfected, the court said. 

The start of a full-fledged hearing into the 19-count money laundering accusation that the defendant was preferred against by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was then scheduled for February 24 and 28. 

Before the decision, Bello, who oversaw Kogi state's operations from 2016 until 2024, maintained his innocence in relation to his alleged involvement in a N80.2 billion scam. 

The EFCC specifically claimed that he purchased desirable houses in upscale neighbourhoods of Abuja and Dubai using five proxies.

Source