The American International School of Abuja has paid $760,910.84 to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from the $845,852 school fees deposited by former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, in respect of advance payment of fees for five of his children in the school, The Nation reported on Saturday.
Bello, who is in hiding, is being prosecuted by the commission for allegedly defrauding the State to the tune of N80.2 billion.
The $845,852 is alleged to have been stolen from the Kogi State Government coffers, being proceeds of corruption.
But Bello vehemently denied the allegation yesterday and vowed that he would not succumb to any blackmail to “come through the backdoor.”
He also threatened to seek redress over the “defamatory” allegations.
A Kogi State High Court sitting in Lokoja has ordered EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede to appear before it on May 13, 2024, to show why an order of committal should not be made against him for allegedly disobeying its order.
The EFCC boss is accused of carrying out “some acts upon which they (the EFCC) have been restrained” by the Court on February 9, 2024, pending the determination of the substantive Originating Motion.
The $845,852 was allegedly paid to the school by Bello in August 2021 to cover the education of four of his children in the school and another one “to be enrolled in August 2022 if application successful (sic) and there is space available.”
The fees were to cover a period of 14 years (2021–2035), according to documents filed in court by the EFCC to support its case against the ex-governor.
“The American school refunded the school fees in two tranches. Initially, it returned $720,000 to the EFCC and later $40,910,” a top source in EFCC told The Nation.
Continuing, the source said: “Following mutual agreement with the EFCC, the school decided to retain some fees (I think $84,942) for its services.
“This is one of the aspects of our investigation which made us to ask Bello to come for interaction. But it is already part of our documents frontloaded to the Federal High Court in Abuja.
“You will recall that the Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, had asked journalists to apply to the court for all evidence attached to the allegations against Bello. We will make this trial as transparent as possible.”
When contacted for official reaction, the Head of Media and Publicity of EFCC, Mr. Dele Oyewale, said: “The school has refunded $760,910 to this commission.”
Responding to a question, the top source confirmed that “the school officially sent a letter of offer to refund to the Lagos Zonal Commander of the EFCC before effecting the payment.”
The letter said in part: “Please forward to us an official written request, with the authentic banking details of the EFCC, for the refund of the above-mentioned funds as previously indicated as part of your investigation into the alleged money laundering activities by the Bello family.
“Since the 7th September 2021 to date, $845,852.84 in tuition and other fees have been deposited into our bank account.
“We have calculated the net amount to be transferred and refunded to the state after deducting the educational services rendered as $760,910.84.
“No further additional fees are expected in respect of tuition as the students’ fees have now been settled until they graduate from AISA.”
One of the documents submitted to the court by the EFCC is an alleged agreement between one Ali Bello and the school for “Prepaid school fees until graduation”.
The agreement dated August 23, 2021 reads: “Mr. Ali Bello contracted the AISA (American International School of Abuja) on Friday 13 August 2021 requesting to pay the Bello family school fees in advance until the students graduate from High School.
“The request was forwarded to the Head of School, Mr.Greg Hughes, who consulted with the Board President Mr. Kevin Bragg.
“It was decided by the School Management to accept Mr. Bello’s offer with the necessary conditions set out by both parties:
Names of the students and their current grade level for the academic year 2021/22 which commenced Thursday 12 August 2021:
1. Farid Bello Grade 8
2. Zahra Bello Grade 6
3. Na’Ima Bello Grade 4
4. Nana-Fatima Bello Grade 2
5. Future student to be enrolled in August 2022 if application successful and there is space available-Zayyan Ali Bello Pre-School.
Conditions:
1. The Finance Office will prepare statement of fees reflecting 100% fees due for the relevant years.
2. Payment should be made on installments into AISA’s US account within a period of 4 months from the date at which document is signed by both parties;
3. AISA cannot guarantee that the Board will continue granting discounts in the future. As and when changes to discount policies are made and approved by the Board, AISA will communicate these to Bello family and be taken into account for calculations;
4. Subject to clause 3 above, where discounts are granted, the discount component of the full fees will be retained to cater to any increase in fees or any future payments which may arise. It is also agreed that in case the increase exceeds the available retained discount, the family will pay the difference.
5. Fees to be charged are as per the current fee structure. These are tuition fees, application fees, annual development levy, English Language learner fee, learning support fee and the capital building fee. The Capital Building fee will only be applicable to Zayyan Ali Bello when he moves into kindergarten. If Zayyan is required by AISA to participate in the English Language Learner of Learning support program when he submits his application next year, that would be an additional cost to the Bello family.
^Any used portions of fees paid in advance will be refunded to the account provided by the parents of the students in a reasonable time; these refunds can only be done into a U.S Bank account and no cash refunds will be considered by AISA;
7. Incidences that could warrant a refund are as follows but not limited to:
*Closure of AISA to students due to economic, financial and/or political reasons
*Student withdrawal before graduating from AISA
*Student expulsion due to behavioural of any other reason taken by the School Administration etc.
8. It is understood that refunds are with respect to the balance of pre-paid fees for subsequent years and not the current year in which the occurrence (closure, early withdrawal and expulsion) occurs;
9. It is impossible to determine future fee increases, when they will be approved by the Board and what the percentage would be. Tuition fees and other related fees will be charged in full and where there is an increase in the fees, the parent will pay any difference that has occurred as a result of the increase in tuition and other related fees.
It was signed by Mr. Greg Hughes (for AISA) and Mr. Ali Bello (for the Bello family).
It’s all blackmail, Yahaya Bello hits back at EFCC
Responding yesterday to the EFCC allegations, Yahaya Bello’s Media Office vowed that no amount of blackmail would make him “come through the back door”; a veiled reference to an offer by the anti-graft agency to shield Bello from prying eyes in the event that he surrenders.
The statement: “On Tuesday, 23rd April 2024, Mr. Olanipekun Olukoyede, in a conduct which we view as unbecoming of a Legal Practitioner, organised a press conference where he alleged (amongst other outrightly defamatory statements) that His Excellency, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, withdrew cash from the Kogi State Government Account, sent same to Bureau De Change Operators and then used same to pay the school fees of his children in advance.
“According to Olukoyede, the payment was made just about the time the former Governor was to leave office.
“Since the said press conference, receipts of payments of the said fees bearing the names of His Excellency’s Children and those of other family members, who separately paid their fees, have been flying all over the internet.
“While we reserve our rights to seek redress against the said defamatory statements, permit us to briefly state the following for the purpose of setting the records straight:
“His Excellency, Yahaya Bello’s children have attended the American International School, Abuja well before he became Governor and he has paid fees for his children as and when due and without fail.
“His Excellency, Alhaji Yahaya Bello did not pay the sum of USD720,000 as alleged by the EFCC Chairman or USD840,000 as is being bandied about on the internet.
“The payment of the fees was not effected at about the time his Excellency was to leave office as claimed by Mr. Olukoyede but same commenced in 2021.
“Alhaji Yahaya Bello DID NOT pay the fees of his children with monies from the coffers of the Kogi State Government.
“ When the EFCC approached the American International School Abuja (AISA) to illegally recover funds legitimately paid by Alhaji Yahaya Bello and other family members, a member of the family challenged the EFCC’s unlawful acts to recover funds legitimately paid. The FCT High Court, in Suit No. FCT/HC/2574/2023 between: Mr. Ali Bello v. The Incorporated Trustees of American International School, Abuja, held that AISA could not lawfully and unilaterally refund to a third party, including the EFCC, fees paid by the parties to the suit.
“The Court subsequently mandated AISA to continue to provide the services it had been paid with respect to the fees.
“From the foregoing, it is clear that no money belonging to Alhaji Yahaya Bello or his family members with regard to school fees has been recovered by the EFCC.
“Now, let it be known that, contrary to misleading narratives by the EFCC, all the documents published online i.e. receipts and letters, that the EFCC has released online, in furtherance of its unrelenting persecution of the former Governor, are documents filed by lawyers in the suit instituted on behalf of Alhaji Yahaya Bello and others who paid fees for their wards under the Advance Fee Payment Agreement with AISA.
“Those documents, having been filed by his lawyers, are thus public documents, which shows that his Excellency, Yahaya Bello, has nothing to hide with regard to the payment of advance fees for his children. This unending harassment and persecution, even while in office, were among key reasons he sought to enforce his fundamental human rights.
“We state that the payment of these fees and the legitimacy thereof is the subject matter of Charge No. FHC/CR/573/2022, filed by the EFCC since 15th December 2022 at the Federal High Court, Abuja. The Charge is pending and the Court has yet to make any finding or convicted anyone in respect of the said sum.
“It is imperative to remind Mr. Olukoyede, who is a Lawyer, that once parties have submitted a dispute to the Court, they are to shun all actions and statements that may prejudice the hearing of the matter or the mind of the Court.
“Since the matter is sub judice, we say no more, we await the EFCC’s proof of the allegations in Court, which is the only venue where the proof of these allegations matter.
“We thank Nigerians who have recognised the obvious desperation of the EFCC boss to convict the former Governor by all means in the Court of public opinion rather than in the law court, as personal vendetta, with the connivance of like minds, and not a fight against corruption.
“We implore others who might have been misled by their shenanigans not to be fooled by mischievous narratives but to follow the case through until justice is served.
“Finally, our Principal, Yahaya Bello, doesn’t visit law enforcement agencies “through the backdoor”. He has insisted on following due process in line with the rule of law. No amount of blackmail will intimidate him.”
Kogi Court summons EFCC chair
A Kogi State High Court sitting in Lokoja has ordered the EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, to appear before it on May 13, 2024, to show cause why an order of committal should not be made against him for allegedly disobeying its order.
The EFCC boss is facing a contempt charge of carrying out “some acts upon which they (the EFCC) have been restrained” by the court on February 9, 2024, pending the determination of the substantive Originating Motion.
Justice I. A. Jamil, ruling on Suit No: HCL/68M/2024 and Motion No: HCL/190M/2024, said “the said act was carried out by the Respondent (EFCC) in violation of the order, which was valid and subsisting when they carried out the act. That same act of the Respondent amounts to Contempt.”
EFCC operatives had laid siege to the residence of Bello on April 17, 2024, in a bid to arrest him.
Bello’s lawyer, M.S. Yusuf, had prayed the court for an order to issue and serve the EFCC Chairman with Form 49 Notice to show cause why an order of committal should not be made against him.
Justice Jamil, in his ruling on Thursday, said: “The applicant’s application before me is to the effect that the Respondent has carried out some acts upon which they have been restrained by this Court on the 9th of February, 2024, pending the determination of the substantive motion on Notice before this Court.
“That the said act was carried out by the Respondent in violation of the order which was valid and subsisting when they carried out those acts. That same acts of the Respondent amount to acts of contempt.
“That the Respondent should be summoned to appear before this Court to answer to the contempt charge.
“It’s against the above facts that this Court hereby grants the prayers sought in line with the principle of “Audi Ultra Patem”. To wit:
“An order of this Honourable Court for the issuance of Form 49 Notice to show cause why order of committal should not be made against the Executive Chairman of the Respondent – Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
“An order for service of Form 49-Notice to show why order of committal should not be made on the Executive Chairman of the Respondent – Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at EFCC Corporate Headquarters, Plot 301/302, Research and Institution District, Abuja.
“This matter is adjourned to the 13th of May, 2024 for the Respondent’s Chairman to appear before this Court in answer to form 49 ordered to be served on him.”
@The Nation, excluding headline
