Kogi State Governor Usman Ododo is accused by Senator Adams Oshiomhole of Edo North of abusing his immunity to shield his predecessor, Yahaya Bello.
He added that by preventing Bello from being arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, or EFCC, Ododo had improperly used his immunity.
Bello was charged by the EFCC with corruption and money laundering totaling N80.2 billion.
In an attempt to apprehend Bello, the anti-graft agency had broken into his Abuja home as part of an ongoing investigation.
However, Ododo later showed up at Bello’s house and stopped the anti-graft agency from selecting his former boss.
Bello was later placed on a watchlist by the EFCC, which also declared his whereabouts unknown.
In the midst of the drama, Bello was not arrested in a fundamental rights enforcement suit by the EFCC, according to a ruling by the Kogi High Court.
Oshiomhole asserted that Ododo’s “rescue” of Bello and the former governor’s failure to appear in court constituted legal violations.
Oshiomhole delivered a speech at the Kukah Center’s international conference, “Revisiting the national question: Nigeria’s elusive search for national integration.”
He said: “If you are afraid, given the fact that you are very vocal, you are independent, you cannot be dismissed, you cannot be promoted or demoted.
“If you are afraid to mention the name of a former governor who breached the law and a sitting governor who used his immunity to cover a governor that lost immunity, where will the courage come from?
“This sophistry of saying we can name the child of a poor man who steal(s) a goat but we are afraid to mention the name of a big man who breached the law, that for me is at the root of our problems.”
