The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) has honoured former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello with a Lifetime Achievement Award on Media Empowerment, despite the weighty corruption charges against him.
The award was presented on Saturday during the NUJ’s 70th anniversary and book launch held at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja.
However, Bello was absent. Smart Adeyemi, former NUJ president and senator for Kogi West, received the plaque on his behalf.
The NUJ leadership, in a letter signed by Deputy National President Abimbola Oyetunde, said the award was to recognise Bello’s “outstanding contributions to the welfare of journalists”, citing his GYB Annual Workshops, which reportedly trained over 200 correspondents and editors per edition.
However, this ceremony comes at a time when Bello is the central figure in one of Nigeria’s biggest ongoing anti-corruption trials which has been reported by newspapers and other NUJ members.
Recall that Bello is currently standing trial in two separate cases brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The cases involve the alleged misappropriation, laundering and concealment of public funds totalling over N190 billion.In the first case, the EFCC accused Bello of conspiring with others to divert over N80 billion shortly after assuming office as governor in 2016.
The funds, according to the amended charge, were allegedly siphoned in February 2016, some weeks after he took the oath of office.
The second case involves a more recent 16-count charge of money laundering and criminal concealment of funds amounting to ₦110 billion. EFCC prosecutors said some of the laundered funds were used to acquire high-value properties in Maitama, Abuja, including one reportedly purchased for N950 million in cash, paid in US dollars.
The anti-graft agency also claimed that over $500,000 was wired to foreign accounts to cover personal expenses such as tuition fees, while other tranches were allegedly concealed through bureau de change transactions and fake invoicing schemes.
Another charge details how N3.08 billion was hidden between 2021 and 2022, during his final years in office.EFCC investigators have presented both documentary evidence and witness testimony in court, including a contractor who claimed he was given N1 billion in cash to renovate Bello’s property in Abuja and Lokoja.
