Justice Maryanne Anenih of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja on Wednesday ordered the remand of a former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The judge also adjourned till December 10, 2024, to rule on his bail application.
Bello and two others, Shuaibu Oricha and Abdulsalam Hudu, are facing 16 counts brought against them by the EFCC.
The immediate past Governor of Kogi State had earlier pleaded not guilty to a 16-count charge the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, preferred against him.
The defendants were accused of complicity in a N110billion fraud.
It will be recalled that the erstwhile governor’s whereabouts remained unknown till yesterday when he surrendered himself after a protracted hide-and-seek game between him and the anti-graft agency.
Dressed in white caftan and blue cap, Bello, mounted the dock around 9:45am.
The charge against the defendants, marked: CR/7781, borders on conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and possession of unlawfully obtained property.
Specifically, the EFCC alleged that the former governor misused state funds to acquire properties, including No. 35 Danube Street, Maitama District, Abuja (N950 million), No. 1160 Cadastral Zone C03, Gwarimpa II District, Abuja (N100 million), and No. 2 Justice Chukwudifu Oputa Street, Asokoro, Abuja (N920 million).
Other properties the defendants allegedly acquired with funds stolen from the Kogi state treasury, included Block D Manzini Street, Wuse Zone 4, Abuja (N170 million), Hotel Apartment Community: Burj Khalifa, Dubai (Five Million, Six Hundred and Ninety-Eight Thousand, Eight Hundred and Eighty-Eight Dirhams), Block 18, Gwelo Street, Wuse Zone 4, Abuja (N60 million), and No. 9 Benghazi Street, Wuse Zone 4, Abuja (N310.4 million).
More so, the defendants were accused of transferring $570,330 and $556,265 to TD Bank, USA, and possessing unlawfully obtained property, including N677.8 million from Bespoque Business Solution Limited.