Lawyer wants Gov Ododo impeached over Yahaya – EFCC face off

By Christiana Ekpa

A human rights lawyer, Deji Ajare, has called on the Kogi State House of Assembly to impeach the state Governor, Usman Ododo, following his intervention that prevented the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, )EFCC), from arresting his predecessor, Yahaya Bello.

Ajare accused Ododo of using his motorcade to ferry Bello away from his house to evade arrest, a situation that amounted to the harbouring of a fugitive, obstruction of justice, and the misuse of state resources.

On Wednesday, Ododo had helped Bello evade being arrested by the EFCC over alleged over N80 billion fraud.

However, the rights lawyer urged the Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Umar Yusuf, to investigate the governor and commence impeachment proceedings found culpable.

In a letter addressed to the Speaker, through the clerk of the House on Friday, Ajare said: “In the light of the above allegations and the inherent potential breaches of statutory duties imposed by the Constitution and other relevant laws of our country, these actions, if proven true, amount to gross misconduct and warrant immediate investigation and commencement of impeachment proceedings.

“I hereby call on the Kogi State House of Assembly under your leadership to initiate a thorough inquiry into these allegations by Section 188 of the Nigerian Constitution, to ascertain the truth and to hold Governor Usman Ododo accountable if the allegations are found to be true.

“I also urge the Kogi State House of Assembly to cooperate with national law enforcement agencies, including the EFCC, to ensure all individuals involved are available for questioning and to facilitate a smooth investigation.”

Meanwhile, EFCC had declared the former governor wanted after evading attempts to arrest him from his residence in Abuja.

This followed concerns raised over the former governor’s whereabouts.