By Ayodele Oni
Kogi State Commissioner for Information, Kingsley Fanwo, has risen in support of Governor Usman Ododo over his role in the drama which ensued while the officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) attempted to arrest former Governor Yahaya Bello at his residence in Abuja.
The Commissioner who also served under Bello explained that Governor Ododo did not help his predecessor, Bello, to outsmart security operatives who wanted to arrest him.
Officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had laid a siege to Bello’s Abuja residence, where they wanted to arrest him.
But Ododo arrived at the scene and hours later he drove out, fueling reports that Bello had sneaked out with him.
Speaking in an interview with Channels Television, Fanwo stated that Ododo is committed to upholding the laws of the country, including respecting its legal processes.
“Governor Ododo did not assist in Bello’s departure from his residence; the EFCC’s claims are misinformation aimed at furthering their objectives.
“Bello is not evading anyone; the existing court injunction protects his fundamental rights.”
Fanwo rejected the anti-graft agency’s claims, describing them as baseless and product of an organized disinformation campaign.
He argued further that the ex-governor is not attempting to avoid arrest, referring a state high court injunction that protects Bello from harassment by the anti-graft agency.
The Commissioner, therefore, criticized the Commission’s allegations even as he questioned the agency’s certainty about Bello’s whereabouts.
He added that Governor Ododo remained a law-abiding leader who respects the rule of law and the Constitution of the Country.
The Attorney General of the Federation & Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, had described Governor Ododo’s action who used his immunity to prevent Bello’s arrest on Wednesday as ‘disquieting’, adding that ’embarking on a temporising self-help and escapism that can only put Nigeria in bad light before the rest of the world is not the way to go.”
The Campaign for Democracy, (CD) while reacting to Governor Ododo’s role in the escape drama of Bello maintained that judging by the role of the governor in the drama, which trailed the arrest of his predecessor, Yahaya Bello by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ododo is not the right person to superintend over the governorship primary election in Ondo state.
