The family of the late Prince Abubakar Audu, former governor of Kogi State, on Sunday denied reports of harbouring the immediate past governor of the state, Yahaya Bello.

Prince Audu’s son, Mohammed Abubakar, said their family house in Ogbonocha, Ofu Local Government Area of the state, serves solely as a private residence for family members and not a sanctuary for any political figure.

Following the disappearance of Bello, reports had it that the former governor was hiding in the family house of the Audus.

This followed the inability of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to arrest Bello during a raid at his residence in Abuja.

However, Abubakar, in a statement, said: “The attention of Prince Abubakar Audu’s family has been drawn to spurious and ridiculous rumors and publications circulating across various social media platforms, alleging that the immediate past governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello, is being harboured in our family house at Ogbonocha, Ofu Local Government Area, Kogi State. We wish to inform the public that this claim is entirely false.

“We wish to emphasize that our family house at Ogbonocha serves solely as a private residence for members of the Audu family and is not a sanctuary for any political figure, past or present.

“As custodians of our family’s heritage, we uphold the principles of honesty and integrity that Prince Abubakar Audu embodied throughout his lifetime.

“We urge the public to exercise caution and discernment when encountering such sensationalist claims, recognizing them for what they are: baseless conjecture designed to sow confusion.

“The Audu family remains committed to upholding the truth and preserving the dignity of our late patriarch’s memory.”