BREAKING: Yahaya Bello Pleads Not Guilty to 16-count Charge

The former Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, has pleaded not guilty to a 16-count charge levelled against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

According to VANGUARD report, Bello pleaded not guilty before trial Justice Maryann Anenih of a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory sitting at Maitama, alongside two other defendants, Umar Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu.

The defendants were accused of complicity in a N110 billion fraud.

Recall that ASAbAMETRO had earlier reported that Bello, dressed in white caftan and blue cap, mounted the dock around 9:45 am.

This followed his sudden appearance on Tuesday, November 26, after several hide-and-seek game between him and the anti-graft agency.

The charge against the defendants, marked: CR/7781, borders on conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and possession of unlawfully obtained property.

Specifically, the EFCC alleged that the former governor misused state funds to acquire properties, including No. 35 Danube Street, Maitama District, Abuja (N950 million), No. 1160 Cadastral Zone C03, Gwarimpa II District, Abuja (N100 million), and No. 2 Justice Chukwudifu Oputa Street, Asokoro, Abuja (N920 million).

Other properties the defendants allegedly acquired with funds stolen from the Kogi state treasury, included Block D Manzini Street, Wuse Zone 4, Abuja (N170 million), Hotel Apartment Community: Burj Khalifa, Dubai (Five Million, Six Hundred and Ninety-Eight Thousand, Eight Hundred and Eighty-Eight Dirhams), Block 18, Gwelo Street, Wuse Zone 4, Abuja (N60 million), and No. 9 Benghazi Street, Wuse Zone 4, Abuja (N310.4 million).