The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says former Governor Yahaya Bello remains wanted, and his arrest is a collective responsibility of all security agencies in Nigeria.

“We have declared him wanted, and he is still wanted,” Dele Oyewale, spokesperson for the anti-graft agency, told Peoples Gazette on Thursday.

When asked why the fugitive former governor had not been arrested since he was declared wanted months ago, Mr Oyewale said, “When a suspected is declared wanted in law enforcement, the responsibility of his arrest is on all the security agencies.”

According to the EFCC official, there are other suspects that the agency has launched a manhunt.

“It is not Yahaya Bello alone. There are so many suspects declared wanted by the EFCC, and we ate on their trail. Until we are done with them, they remain declared wanted,” said the EFCC spokesman. 

Mr Oyewale added, “So it is not about him alone. Go to our website, you’ll see so many suspects declared wanted, and they remain in that status until they are arrested.”

In April, the EFCC declared the ex-governor wanted for alleged crimes of stealing N80 billion from Kogi’s treasury.

The declaration came after the agency faced considerable resistance from Mr Bello’s security detail during a previous attempt to arrest him for prosecution.