As reactions continue to trail the Federal High Court’s frozen of N20 billion salary bailout which was deposited in a fixed account in Sterling Bank by Kogi State governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, a human right activist, Comrade Deji Adeyanju said Bello should be jailed forever.
The activist took to his Twitter page to react to Tuesday’s Court order which was brought before it by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), saying that Bello has caused problems for Kogi workers.
“Yahaya Bello should be in jail forever if this was a country at all. Nobody can try this in China. How can you destroy a state to this level?,” he tweeted?
A Federal High Court, Lagos division on Tuesday ordered the frozen of Kogi State salary account on the ex-parte motion brought before it by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The salary bailout account number 0073572696 is domiciled in Sterling Bank Plc.
Justice Garba Ringim granted the ex-parte order and asked the Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Mr Abdulrasheed Bawa to conclude the investigation of Kogi State government.
The EFCC pursuant to section 44(2) of the Constitution and section 34(1) of its Act under the inherent jurisdiction of the Court asked for the account to be frozen.
The EFCC in its 13-paragraph affidavit in support of the ex parte originating summons deposed to by a member of a team of investigators attached to the Chairman, Monitoring Unit of the EFCC, Lagos, stated that the Commission received credible and direct intelligence which led to the tracing of funds reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities warehoused in account No. 0073572696 and domiciled in Sterling Bank Plc with the name – Kogi State Salary Bailout Account.
The EFCC said it acted based on direct intelligence and discovered on 1st April, 2019 the Sterling Bank approved the sum of N20,000,000.000.00 bail out loan facility for Kogi State.
The loan facility was officially requested through the office of the Honourable Commissioner for Finance and Economic Planning to the tune of N20,000,000,000.00 with an interest rate of 9 percent for a tenure of 240 months from Sterling Bank Plc.
EFCC revealed that the facility was meant to augment salary payment and running cost of the State.
