Nigeria, April 19 -- The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, has asked Yahaya Bello, a former governor of Kogi State, to turn himself in to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

He said in a statement on Thursday that the EFCC has statutory powers "to invite any person of interest to interact with them in the course of their investigation into any matter regardless of status."

Mr Bello, who faces N80 billion money laundering charges, refused to appear before the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday where he was expected to take his plea.

Earlier on Wednesday, EFCC operatives laid siege to Mr Bello's residence in Wuse Zone 4, Abuja, for several hours in a bid to arrest him.

The ...