The immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, who has been in detention since December 10, was on Thursday granted a fresh N500 million bail by a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory sitting in Maitama.
The ruling, delivered by Justice Maryann Anenih, also mandated Bello to provide three sureties in the same amount. The court stipulated that the sureties must own landed properties located in high-brow areas of Abuja.
As additional conditions, the court directed Bello to surrender his international travel documents and prohibited him from leaving the country without prior permission.
Bello, who governed Kogi State from 2016 to 2024, is currently facing trial over alleged involvement in a N110 billion fraud. He, alongside two Kogi State government officials, Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu, is answering to a 16-count charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The charges, marked CR/7781, include allegations of conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, and possession of unlawfully acquired property.
The EFCC accused Bello of diverting state funds to purchase several properties, including:
– No. 35 Danube Street, Maitama District, Abuja (N950 million),
– No. 1160 Cadastral Zone C03, Gwarimpa II District, Abuja (N100 million),
– No. 2 Justice Chukwudifu Oputa Street, Asokoro, Abuja (N920 million),
– Block D, Manzini Street, Wuse Zone 4, Abuja (N170 million),
– A hotel apartment in Burj Khalifa, Dubai (valued at AED 5,698,888),
– Block 18, Gwelo Street, Wuse Zone 4, Abuja (N60 million), and
– No. 9 Benghazi Street, Wuse Zone 4, Abuja (N310.4 million).
The EFCC also accused the defendants of transferring $570,330 and $556,265 to TD Bank, USA, and unlawfully obtaining N677.8 million from Bespoque Business Solution Limited.
Additionally, Bello had previously been granted bail by the Federal High Court in Abuja. That bail, also set at N500 million with two sureties, related to another 19-count charge involving an alleged N80.2 billion fraud.