Indicted But Not Disqualified: How Yahaya Bello Won Kogi Central

Yahaya Bello lost his governorship and lost his influence in some circles. Then, out of the blue, he proved that he has not lost his political touch.

On May 18, 2026, the former Kogi governor secured the APC senatorial ticket for Kogi Central with 72,399 votes. His closest rival managed 319. The result would be unremarkable if not for one detail: Bello is standing trial.

For readers who may have forgotten, the EFCC filed a 19-count charge against him involving alleged mismanagement of over N80 billion, so he still has a trial to attend at the Federal High Court in Abuja. Yet here he is, the APC’s flagbearer for the 2027 Senate race.

The Nigerian Constitution Section 66 disqualifies a candidate only upon conviction; trial alone does not count. A man can stand before the EFCC in the morning, walk to the party secretariat in the afternoon and collect his nomination form.

Critics see this as a loophole to which lawyers respond that it is the letter of the law.

But this is not new. Theodore Orji won the Abia governorship in 2007 while in EFCC custody. He was released just in time for his inauguration. Omisore Iyiola won a Senate seat from prison while on trial for murder. Orji Uzor Kalu won a Senate seat in 2019 while facing a N7.1 billion fraud trial. He remained a Senator even after conviction, until the Supreme Court nullified the judgment on procedural grounds.

Bello’s supporters see resilience. His opponents see a system that protects its own. The constitution does not bar him from running. And since the voters of Kogi Central seem to have chosen him, he will likely face incumbent Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of the PDP in the general election.

For Nigerians watching from afar, it has never been clearer that you can be on trial and on the ballot at the same time. With the law allowing it and history confirming it, Bello is only the latest proof of it.