President Goodluck Jonathan will not interfere in
the ongoing trial of Major Hamza al-Mustapha, the ex-Chief Security
Officer to the late dictator, Gen. Sani Abacha, the Presidency has said
There have been calls in some quarters for the discontinuation of the trial which has been on for over a decade. Some supporters of the ex-CSO have also suggested that he should be granted amnesty.
But the President’s spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati, told journalists in the State House, Abuja, on Sunday that Jonathan was not inclined to dabble into a matter that was before the court.
Abati said, “You know that this is a matter that is before the court and this is a matter that has been taken up by the Lagos State Government. This is a country where we believe in the rule of law, where people frown at any sort of interference with the judiciary.
“That (amnesty) may not be a very good suggestion and Mr. President, as you know, has always talked about the Rule of Law.”
Al-Mustapha who is currently undergoing trial for the 1994 murder of Mrs. Kudirat Abiola continues his testimony on Monday (today) before Justice Mojisola Dada of Lagos High Court. He has been in detention since 1998 shortly after the death of Abacha on June 8, 1998.
At the news conference, Abati also said the President had not dropped his single-term agenda, adding that media reports suggesting that Jonathan had dropped the idea were not correct.
The single term proposal has attracted condemnation and criticisms from opposition parties and the public, with many dismissing it as a ploy to extend Jonathan’s tenure.
Stressing that the proposal was alive and well, the presidential spokesman said the single-term agenda had more supporters than critics.
He said, “Yes, people have asked whether the President has withdrawn the proposal, some use the word bill, on the single term tenure.
“How do you withdraw something that has not been tabled?
“People saying it has been jettisoned, who are they quoting? That is the type of question we ask.
“A lot of highly placed Nigerians are saying it is a good thing, even some political groups that initially opposed it are now saying, ‘oh we think it is a good idea’ but they were giving the President conditions, the condition being that he would not benefit from it. What is the matter? The President himself said that from Day One. So how does that amount to a condition?
“It is a proposal. It is still at the level of an idea and it has generated debate out there. At the moment if you check the debate, you will find that there are even as many people supporting it as there are people that are criticizing it.
“In fact, in my own estimation, there are even more people supporting the idea, it is just that they will say, ‘well, I support the idea, I think it is what we need but the issue should not be brought up now.’
“But on the relevance of the proposal, I think there is no disagreement on that among the majority of Nigerians.
“What you must understand is that there has been a lot of partisanship developing around the discussion of the idea. I think that certain persons who do not even want to consider the proposal, who do not want to look at the rationale behind it, are those inventing all types of stories, including saying it has been jettisoned, or it was withdrawn.
“It is not on record anywhere that the President said he is no longer interested in that proposal.
“If you have any evidence to the contrary then you can present it.”
Abati urged Nigerians to wait until the National Assembly resumed from its current recess in September, when Jonathan is expected to submit the planned executive bill, before accepting any report suggesting it had been dropped.
“You wait till they (National Assembly) return, then we will see whether the proposal or bill had been jettisoned or not,” he said.
Also asked to confirm reports that the planned bill would include a proposal that would allow public officials to operate foreign accounts, Abati said, “Why don’t we wait for the proposed bill? One proposal is already causing so much controversy. Why judge a book that you have not read?”
By Ihuoma Chiedozie, Abuja Courtesy Of: Punch
There have been calls in some quarters for the discontinuation of the trial which has been on for over a decade. Some supporters of the ex-CSO have also suggested that he should be granted amnesty.
But the President’s spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati, told journalists in the State House, Abuja, on Sunday that Jonathan was not inclined to dabble into a matter that was before the court.
Abati said, “You know that this is a matter that is before the court and this is a matter that has been taken up by the Lagos State Government. This is a country where we believe in the rule of law, where people frown at any sort of interference with the judiciary.
“That (amnesty) may not be a very good suggestion and Mr. President, as you know, has always talked about the Rule of Law.”
Al-Mustapha who is currently undergoing trial for the 1994 murder of Mrs. Kudirat Abiola continues his testimony on Monday (today) before Justice Mojisola Dada of Lagos High Court. He has been in detention since 1998 shortly after the death of Abacha on June 8, 1998.
At the news conference, Abati also said the President had not dropped his single-term agenda, adding that media reports suggesting that Jonathan had dropped the idea were not correct.
The single term proposal has attracted condemnation and criticisms from opposition parties and the public, with many dismissing it as a ploy to extend Jonathan’s tenure.
Stressing that the proposal was alive and well, the presidential spokesman said the single-term agenda had more supporters than critics.
He said, “Yes, people have asked whether the President has withdrawn the proposal, some use the word bill, on the single term tenure.
“How do you withdraw something that has not been tabled?
“People saying it has been jettisoned, who are they quoting? That is the type of question we ask.
“A lot of highly placed Nigerians are saying it is a good thing, even some political groups that initially opposed it are now saying, ‘oh we think it is a good idea’ but they were giving the President conditions, the condition being that he would not benefit from it. What is the matter? The President himself said that from Day One. So how does that amount to a condition?
“It is a proposal. It is still at the level of an idea and it has generated debate out there. At the moment if you check the debate, you will find that there are even as many people supporting it as there are people that are criticizing it.
“In fact, in my own estimation, there are even more people supporting the idea, it is just that they will say, ‘well, I support the idea, I think it is what we need but the issue should not be brought up now.’
“But on the relevance of the proposal, I think there is no disagreement on that among the majority of Nigerians.
“What you must understand is that there has been a lot of partisanship developing around the discussion of the idea. I think that certain persons who do not even want to consider the proposal, who do not want to look at the rationale behind it, are those inventing all types of stories, including saying it has been jettisoned, or it was withdrawn.
“It is not on record anywhere that the President said he is no longer interested in that proposal.
“If you have any evidence to the contrary then you can present it.”
Abati urged Nigerians to wait until the National Assembly resumed from its current recess in September, when Jonathan is expected to submit the planned executive bill, before accepting any report suggesting it had been dropped.
“You wait till they (National Assembly) return, then we will see whether the proposal or bill had been jettisoned or not,” he said.
Also asked to confirm reports that the planned bill would include a proposal that would allow public officials to operate foreign accounts, Abati said, “Why don’t we wait for the proposed bill? One proposal is already causing so much controversy. Why judge a book that you have not read?”
By Ihuoma Chiedozie, Abuja Courtesy Of: Punch
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