He is better known for his effort towards decongesting several prisons, now known as correctional facilities, in Nigeria.

During the earlier part of his career, Bello was, for official reasons, off and on the bench. In November 1984, he left private practice to become a state counsel at the Kaduna State Ministry of Justice and it took him until the following year to become a magistrate.

He then left the bench after serving as a magistrate for two years. He was temporarily transferred and appointed as the Head of Legal Recovery department at the then Universal Bank of Nigeria plc between 1987 and 1989.

In 1993, he joined the Board of River Basin Authority in Minna, Niger State, as a secretary and legal adviser.