[6] He began attending Local Government Education Authority (Nigeria) (LGEA) Primary School, Agassa in Okene LGA in 1984.

[4][22] In 2020, Bello repeated the "ta-ta-ta-ta" gunfire chant in Akure, Ondo State while addressing a rally for Rotimi Akeredolu's re-election campaign.

[26][27] Bello refused to wear a mask at public events, including after a governors' meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari and at the funeral for Tolulope Arotile.

[29] In October 2020, Bello said that he had rejected a ₦1.1 billion support fund for Kogi State from the World Bank because of his belief that COVID-19 is a "glorified malaria".

[34] According to Kogi State Commissioner for Information Kingsley Fanwo in April 2021, Bello received an honorary professorship in "humanitarian services, human resources management, Peace Building" from St Thomas-a-Becket University.

[35] Investigation by Sahara Reporters discovered that St Thomas-a-Becket University neither awards recognised UK degrees nor has courses in humanitarian services, human resources management, or peace-building.

Kogi in Action spokesperson Majeed Abdullahi said that "EMA furnished the EFCC with details of executive recklessness on the part of the governor and his agents", expressing concern about the agency's alleged inaction.

[40] In February 2021, scrutiny of the year's Kogi State budget uncovered scores of mentions of COVID-19, a virus Bello falsely claimed did not exist and refused to combat with countermeasures.

[42] A later investigation by Premium Times indicated that over ₦2.6 billion was allocated for agriculture-related COVID mitigation programs, but farmers interviewed said that no assistance was offered to them by the state government.

Commissioner for Finance Asiru Idris (who signed the report) and Bello's chief press secretary, Onogwu Mohammed, did not respond to requests for comment.

[46] In July of that year, the Anti-Corruption Network said that the EFCC had not made progress on its announced investigation of Bello and threatened to take legal action if the commission did not act promptly.

Despite the Bello administration's lack of anti-COVID measures, financial records indicated that the state government bought a year of COVID-19 risk-assessment software for ₦90,720,000 in March 2020.

[48] The Premium Times reporting sparked further calls for investigation, with the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) asking President Buhari to "direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami, SAN and appropriate anti-corruption agencies to investigate alleged misuse of the N4.5 billion donations, loans and support the Kogi State government obtained from the Federal Government, including N90,720,000 reportedly spent on software to track COVID-19 cases in the state.

"[49] On 31 August 2021, the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court froze the Kogi State Salary Bailout Sterling Bank fixed account after an application from the EFCC.

Fanwo accused the EFCC of misleading the judiciary and the public, threatening to sue the commission and the media for reporting the court proceedings.

[51] Bello denied the allegations, calling the case a "misrepresentation of facts", saying that no Kogi state account was frozen, and "the officials of the EFCC" could have misled the commission.

[56] In November 2021, the Central Bank of Nigeria acknowledged the receipt of about ₦19.3 billion in Kogi State salary bailout funds after their recovery by the EFCC.

[57] Fanwo again denied that the money belonged to the Kogi State government, calling the EFCC's report "mischievous, false and politically motivated".

[59] Former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello is facing a 19-count charge by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for alleged money laundering and misappropriation of ₦80.2 billion.