. . . Buhari unhappy about Shiites confrontation
Former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki and the leader of the Indigenous People of Briafra ( IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu may not see the light of day anytime soon, as President Muhammadu Buhari Wednesday, angrily stated why the government was refusing to release them from detention.
This is even as the President said Nigerians would know the true state of the war against corruption by the end of the first quarter of 2016.
He also said he is still awaiting the report of enquiry from the Kaduna state government and the army on the Military, Shiite clash .
The President who was speaking on national television during his maiden media chat, said because of the atrocities committed by the duo, it was not in the best interest of the country to grant them bail.
“Technically if you see the kinds of atrocities those people committed against the country. If they jump bail, see the former President wrote to the governor of central bank and said give N40bn to so so and so, and then he gives account and you release him to go and see his doctors in London, while about 2million IDPs don’t even know their parents.
“And the one you are calling Kanu, do you know he had two passports, one Nigerian one British, and he came into the country without any, do you know he brought an equipment into this counter and was broadcasting was radio Biafra, which kind of government do you think should harbor that kind of person. There is a treasonable felony against him and I hope the court will listen to the case” he said.
Dasuki, is facing trial for allegedly diverting and sharing over $2.2 billion dollars meant for arms procurement for the anti-Boko Haram war, to politicians and cronies, while Kanu, is facing trial for spearheading the quest for an independent nation of Biafra.
The duo had earlier been granted bail by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, but have been rearrested by the State Security Services.
Speaking on the issue of the war against corruption in the country the President urged Nigerians to be patient as government was working behind the scenes to recover looked funds and sanitize the system.
“Monies have been recovered but the fact that whatever we recovered will have to end up in court because Nigerians are entitled to know the truth and the truth will be what the court has discovered by submissions made to them in terms of documentation , including the bank statements where it was lodged ,how it was lodged whether it is petrol, money from NNPC or money from customs, or money directly from central bank, when we do that,Nigeria will be better.
“It’s an ugly situation we find ourselves, we have to be very sure of the documents we get, cross check with the banks, sometimes across the countries, Cross check records for example in NNPC, which ship loaded, where or record in terms of amount of crude lifted, what is the destination, the form of payment, is there an agreement or is just an order from the top. We have to be sure because when we go to the courts, those that are taken to before the courts are people of substance and they get the best Lawyers to defend them because they can afford to pay and it is work that we have done, when I talk about we I mean,the EFCC, ICPC ,the amount of work that have done, supervised by the attorney general to make sure a thorough work has been done in terms of submitting fool proof document that earn respectful prosecution.
“What we have done as a government, We are at a stage where we cannot reveal it.from the time ICPC have been put in place till now,how many people has it successfully prosecuted,. If you do that you will not have the patience to keep quiet, you will just condemn them outrightly. ,But now we are being thorough, we made the accusations those we accuse of being corrupt. We will have enough document , the amount of money , which currency, even the shipping line in terms of NNPC, and which CBN governor whether he reccieved the order directly from the president or he use his initiative himself and transfered billions of Naira.
“I think By the end of first quarter of next year I think we will be informing Nigerians on what progress has been made” he said.
On the confrontation of the Military by the Shiites and the ensuing massacre, the President said interestingly the President of Iran had called to speak with him about it. “But I told him that as government, we have a system. When it happened in one of the cities, the governor has physically visited the area. We have a system of investigation. The military that was involved too has a tradition of investigation. And I as the head of Federal Government, I have to wait for official report before I can come out as the head of the Federal Government and make a statement. So I am allowing the Army and the Kaduna State government to submit their own reports of inquiry. The police, the SSS, though they are not directly involved, also they are doing their own constitutional role of finding out the cause of the matter.
“But all I know is that whether it is the police, the military, the civil authorities, where there is evidence that lives were lost and property destroyed, there is a standard way of investigation; it depends on how serious it is. If it is very serious, a Judicial inquiry (is set up). …And then people from all directions are asked to come and give evidence.
“How can any group create a state within a state. I don’t want to speak about it in detail now, I think I should leave it until I see the inquiries. But there are a number of things that I saw where some excited teenagers were virtually hitting the chest of Generals, putting roadblocks and threatenng them with missiles”.
The president who admitted to being infuriated by the confrontation said : “I realised my position. I am now a sitting dock.
” But to be fair to both sides, we have to wait for the inquiries, and then you tell the public. For instance, I heard some poeple in Zaria gave a press briefing in Kaduna, isn’t it? About 2 or 3 days ago? They called the press and told them the agony they have been going through in the last five, ten years.
“I expect my report of inquiry from Kaduna State government because it happened in Kaduna in one of the cities and it has been there for the last 20 years from what I have been reading form your papers, they occupied federal highways sometimes from Kano to Kaduna. This is what I heard and fortunately for me, I have never been in that mess” he said.
Elizabeth Archibong
