How EFCC Outsmarts Ex-Governor Yahaya Bello, Tracks Him to Abuja Hideout Using Aide’s Phone

EFCC tracked former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello to his hideout in Abuja using his aide’s phone, as he attempted to evade detection by leaving his own phone in Kogi.

Bello faces fraud charges for allegedly diverting N84 billion of state funds.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) successfully tracked former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello to his hideout in Abuja by outsmarting him and using the mobile phone of his aide.

VerseNews reports that Sources revealed that Bello deliberately left his personal mobile phone at the Government House in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, in an attempt to avoid being tracked by authorities.

However, the EFCC was monitoring the mobile phone of his aide, which led them to Bello’s location.

A top security source confirmed that the former governor was attempting to evade detection by leaving his phone behind in Kogi.

The source said, “Yahaya Bello left his phone at the Government House in Kogi to avoid being tracked to Abuja. But the mobile phone of his aide, which he used, was already being tracked to where he’s now trapped in Abuja.”

This Online News Platform gathered that EFCC operatives had barricaded Bello’s residence on Benghazi Street in Wuse Zone 4, Abuja, restricting movement around the area.

A source also shared an image showing the EFCC’s blockade of the access road leading to the former governor’s house.

The reason for the anti-graft agency’s operation around Bello’s residence had not been immediately clear at the time, but it was known that EFCC had filed fraud charges against him. The agency accused the former governor of diverting state funds amounting to N84 billion.

The EFCC’s amended charge alleged that Bello misappropriated N80 billion of Kogi State funds in September 2015, four months before he assumed office in January 2016.

Additionally, the agency had arraigned Bello’s nephew, Ali Bello, before the Federal High Court in Abuja on charges of money laundering to the tune of N10 billion.

The Kogi State government contested the charges, labeling them as “ridiculous” and “laughable.” They argued that Bello could not have accessed or misappropriated state funds before assuming office.

The EFCC had previously charged Bello before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja for alleged money laundering amounting to N84 billion.

The amended charges involved Bello’s nephew Ali Bello, Dauda Sulaiman, and Abdulsalam Hudu as co-accused, who faced counts of money laundering, breach of trust, and misappropriation of funds.

The anti-graft agency accused the group of conspiring to convert N80,246,470,089.88 of state funds, which they knew were proceeds of unlawful activity. Although the former governor was still considered at large, the first and second defendants, Ali Bello and Suleiman, pleaded not guilty to all charges.

In December 2021, VerseNews gathered that the EFCC’s seizure of $760,910.84, which Yahaya Bello had paid to the American International School, Abuja, as prepaid school fees for his four children. The EFCC claimed the funds were proceeds of crime and demanded that the school refund them.

The school initially paid a small portion before transferring the remaining $759,910.84 to an account provided by the EFCC, highlighting the commission’s efforts to tackle corruption and hold individuals accountable for financial misconduct.