Yahaya Bello’s children’s American school offline amid corruption allegations

The school attended by the children of the former governor of Kogi State, American International School of Abuja, AISA, has gone offline.

Also read: “EFCC, investigate Yahaya Bello’s children’s school for money laundering,” says Verydarkman

The school, a coeducational international day school in Abuja, Nigeria serving grades Pre-School through Grade 12, has recently been in the news over corruption and money laundering allegations involving the former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello.

Recall that Ola Olukoyede, the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, accused Bello of paying $720,000 in advance as fees for five of his children from the coffers of the Kogi state government while he was governor and demanded a refund from the school.

Confirming this, AISA has asked the EFCC to provide “authentic banking details” for the refund of fees paid for the children.

However, a quick search by Freelanews correspondent found that all digital footprints of the embattled school have been wiped off. The official website of the school returned a 404 Error – Page Not Found, while social media platforms like Instagram and others are not loading.

Many Nigerians are of the opinion that it may be due to the money laundering allegations surrounding its operations and the former governor of Kogi State.

AISA, founded in 1993, has 183 total staff, 47 full-time teachers, 32 of whom are U.S. citizens, 8 host-country nationals, and 7 third-country nationals as of the 2023-2024 school year.

The school includes 48 classrooms, an EAL and LS center, two science labs, a computer lab, a library media center, two music rooms, two art rooms, a multipurpose hall, 15 administrative offices, a conference room, a clinic, and a school store.

The school also has a swimming pool, soccer field, two basketball courts, a tennis court, a running track, and two playgrounds.

The majority of the school’s income is derived from tuition fees and grants. Annual tuition rates are as follows: PS: $7,842; PK: $8,888; K: $14,638; grades 1-5: $17,844; grades 6-8: $19,172; grades 9-12: $21,390. Upon initial enrollment, for kindergarten to grade 12, there is a one-time capital fee of $10,000. For students enrolled in the PS and PK programs, the capital fee is paid only when the child is admitted to kindergarten. An annual development levy of $500 is charged for each student. An application fee of $500 is required for all new applicants. A fee of $1,500 is charged for all students enrolled in the EAL and learning support programme.

All fees are in American dollars.

Rtn. Victor Ojelabi

Ojelabi, the publisher of Freelanews, is an award winning and professionally trained mass communicator, who writes ruthlessly about pop culture, religion, politics and entertainment.