Ex-Governor Yahaya Bello stays harmless till confirmed responsible in ongoing trial – EFCC
The {Economic} and {Financial} Crimes Fee has stated that former Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, remained harmless of fraud allegations till confirmed responsible by a reliable courtroom of legislation.
The Fee pressured that Bello’s trial was nonetheless ongoing and that it was solely the accountability of the courtroom, not the EFCC, to find out his guilt or innocence.
Talking on Monday whereas showing on a tv programme, the EFCC Director of Public Affairs, Wilson Uwuajeren, defined that legal prosecution in Nigeria takes time, because it entails the presentation of witnesses and proof earlier than the courtroom.
Uwuajeren stated the EFCC is at the moment prosecuting the case by presenting witnesses and proof, noting that the ultimate end result rests fully with the courtroom.
He additional famous that below the Nigerian Structure, any particular person standing trial is presumed harmless till confirmed responsible, including that Bello’s standing or therapy inside his political occasion has no bearing on the costs filed in opposition to him.
Based on him, the EFCC has no real interest in occasion politics and stays centered on diligently prosecuting the case earlier than the courtroom.
He reaffirmed the Fee’s dedication to making sure justice for each the prosecution and the defence, stressing that nothing has gone amiss within the dealing with of the matter.
“One factor we have to perceive is how legal prosecution works in Nigeria. It takes a while earlier than you show a few of these points in courtroom. As I converse to you, the trial continues to be ongoing earlier than the courts,” Uwuajeren stated.
“We’re presenting witnesses, we’ve got introduced proof. It’s not the fee that’s going to resolve the matter; it’s the courtroom that may resolve the matter. All we have to do is to observe the prosecution because it is happening in courtroom and be sure that, on the finish of the day, each the prosecution and the defence get justice,” he added.
Uwuajeren continued, “Yahaya Bello, as we converse, is below trial, however the Structure presumes that anybody below trial is harmless till confirmed responsible. So no matter is going on to him inside his occasion is only occasion affairs. It has nothing to do with the EFCC or the costs we’ve got filed earlier than the courtroom.”
“So the accountability we owe Nigerians is to be devoted to the costs we’ve got filed and to prosecute them diligently. Nothing has occurred, nothing has gone amiss, and we stay dedicated to doing that,” he stated.
He concluded that, “Regardless of the occasion does to Yahaya Bello is the occasion’s enterprise. EFCC is just not a political occasion. We’re not curious about politics. We’re a legislation enforcement company, and we’re imposing the legislation.”