The Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Umar Yusuf, has been told to initiate impeachment proceedings against the State Governor Usman Ododo.
A human rights lawyer, Deji Ajare, made the call in a letter addressed to the speaker, through the clerk of the House on Friday, accusing Ododo of misconduct and abuse of office
The lawyer said Odod, adding that the act amounted to harbouring a fugitive, obstruction of justice, and the misuse of state resources.
The letter asked the assembly to cooperate with the EFCC and ensure all individuals involved are available for questioning and investigations.
“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.
He further implored the House of Assembly to take swift and decisive actions, noting the effect of the “misgovernance implied in these allegations” on the people of the state.
“I thank you as I look forward to your urgent attention to this issue. I trust in your commitment to uphold the Constitution and the laws of our land for the betterment of our state and its people”, the letter also read.
The Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Mohammed Yabagi, said neither the Clerk nor the Speaker had received the letter.
Yabagi said the House has no valid reasons to begin impeachment processe against the governor and that there was no evidence that the governor prevented security agencies from arresting Yahaya Bello.
It would be recalled that Operatives of the EFCC laid a siege on Bello’s Abuja resident with the intent to arrest the former governor but could not achieved that.
During the siege, Ododo, who led a motorcade into the residence barricaded by security offices in a while drove out in the process of which gunshots were heard, causing the people who were watching the situation to run for their dear lives.
With the EFCC unable to arrest Bello, the commission on Thursday declared the former state governor wanted, just as the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) has placed Bello on a watch list asking both the police and the DSS to arrest him.
