ABUJA—Former Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Niger Delta, Kingsley Kuku, has cried out that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and Department of State Service, DSS, want to arrest, detain and persecute him as they did to former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki retd.
Kuku alleged that the two government agencies were against him because of his defence of the Niger Delta and the role he played during the 2015 presidential election.
But the EFCC, in a swift reaction, asked Kuku to return home and answer charges against him, if his hands were clean.
Kuku in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja, said: “I really fear for my life and I am suspicious that they want to give me the ‘Dasuki treatment’ by framing me up, arresting me and dumping me in detention indefinitely so as to keep me out of their way.
“I do not believe that I can get trial under the leadership of the EFCC and the DSS, given what they have already declared against me when there is no case in court against me. They are violating court orders and are not ready to give me fair treatment and I cannot, therefore, show up against them.”
You’ve case to answer —EFCC
But spokesman for the EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, said that the commission wanted Kuku to come back home and face trial if his hands are clean and nothing more.
Uwujaren said in a statement: “For the avoidance of doubt, EFCC is investigating the Amnesty Office managed by Kuku. The commission was compelled to declare him wanted in July 2015 after he failed to honour an invitation sent to him for interrogation on July 28, 2015.
“Rather than appear before the team investigating the allegations of fraud against him, he sent a letter, through his counsel, Karina Tunyan, claiming that he ‘is currently in the United States of America to keep an appointment with his doctors,’ with a promise to appear on September 30, 2015. He never did, and his last known place of abode has remained the US, a different territorial jurisdiction.
“In February 2016, in a bid to forestall his arrest by the EFCC, Kuku approached a Federal High Court in Lagos, seeking to stop the agency from arresting him on his possible return to Nigeria. The trial judge, Justice Okon Abang, dismissed his application as lacking in merit, and upheld the statutory powers of the EFCC to investigate him
The party faulted the decision of the electoral umpire in a statement on Saturday by the spokesperson for its Presidential Campaign Council, Mr Festus Keyamo.
Keyamo, who is also a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, said they received the news of INEC’s decision with “great disappointment and disillusionment”.
“We condemn and deprecate this tardiness of the electoral umpire in the strongest terms possible,” he said.
“President Muhammadu Buhari had since cooperated fully with INEC by ensuring everything it demanded to conduct free and fair elections were promptly made available to it.”
The APC campaign council spokesman noted that the postponement was a disappointment to his party and their supporters across the country.
He, therefore, warned INEC against bowing to the purported pressure of the opposition which he said was not ready for the elections.
According to Keyamo, credible demographic projections have predicted a defeat of the opposition party and it needs the breather to halt President Muhammadu Buhari’s momentum.
“We do hope that INEC will remain neutral and impartial in this process as the rumour mill is agog with the suggestion that this postponement has been orchestrated in collusion with the main opposition,” he alleged.
The council spokesman added, “It is in the light of the above that we wish to appeal to Nigerians and our supporters to be patient, calm and resolute despite this temporary setback.
“Let us not give anyone … the opportunity to plunge this nation into a crisis, which is what they earnestly desire.”
INEC had postponed the general elections by a week, less than five hours to the start of the polls.
INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, announced the decision at a short press briefing held at 2:44 am on Saturday morning in Abuja.
According to him, the Presidential and National Assembly elections, initially scheduled for today, February 16, will now hold on February 23, while the governorship and state houses of assembly elections will take place on March 9.
The Independent National Electoral Commission in Nigeria (INEC) on Friday night announced a shift in the general elections dates to February 23 and March 9 respectively.
The new schedule was announced by the Chairman of the commission, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, early Saturday morning after an emergency meeting with security officials, election observers and other political stakeholders.
He said the postponement was due to logistic and operational reasons.
According to him, the new dates for the elections are 23 February and 9 March for the Presidential and National Assembly, as well as the governorship, state houses of assembly and FCT Area Council elections respectively.
It would be recalled that the Presidential/National Assembly Election was initially billed for today February 16 while the Governorship/States Assemblies election was billed for Saturday, March 2.
According to Prof. Yakubu, “the commission came to the conclusion that proceeding with the election is no longer feasible.”
He added that “This was a difficult decision for the commission to take but necessary” for the success of the elections.
The National Assembly had in October last year approved the sum of N242.245bn for this year’s elections.
Out of the amount, INEC got N189bn, while the police was allocated N27.3bn. The DSS got N10.2bn; NSA’s office, N9.4bn; N2.628bn for Nigerian Immigration Service, and N3.573bn for the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
The Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) has issued an arrest warrant against Walter Onnoghen, suspended chief justice of Nigeria.
At its resumed trial on Wednesday, the tribunal ordered the nation’s security agencies to arrest Onnoghen after he failed to appear before it.
Aliyu Umar, lead prosecution counsel for the federal government, had asked the tribunal to order Onnoghen’s arrest over his refusal to appear before it.
The suspended CJN has not been in court for at least five times since his trial started.
The federal government is prosecuting him for alleged false assets declaration.
Umar, while making an oral application for the arrest warrant, kicked against Onnoghen’s continued absence.
He said both the administration of criminal justice act and the practice direction of the CCT mandates a defendant to be present in court before any proceedings can be conducted in respect of a pending charge.
Adegboyega Awomolo, lead defense counsel, however, kicked against the application.
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