Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has said President Mohammadu
Buhari’s utterances outside Nigeria was the reason the British Prime
Minister, David Cameron described Nigeria as "fantastically corrupt",
saying; “What do you expect from the international community when the
president of a nation keeps going abroad to say that his people are
corrupt?”
He said it was annoying that President Buhari said he was embarrassed
and shocked by Cameron’s comment, adding that instead of telling
Nigerians that he was shocked, the president should apologise to
Nigerians for demarketing the country and his people.
The governor, who spoke through his Special Assistant on Public
Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka said it was on record that
in February this year, President Buhari said in United Kingdom that
“Nigerians' reputation for crime has made them unwelcome in Britain”
and went on to warn Nigerians to stop trying to make asylum claims in
Britain, saying that their reputation for criminality has made it hard
for them to be accepted abroad.
He said; “When a president mounts the podium in foreign lands and
gleefully says that his own people are criminals, that they are
corrupt and that those abroad should be sent back home, why won’t
presidents of other countries brand all citizens of such a country as
fantastically corrupt?
“Rather than this grandstanding from the presidency, conceited efforts
should be made to redeem the image of Nigeria that the president has
destroyed.”
Governor Fayose, who said he was not against the anti-corruption
efforts of the federal government, added that all he was saying was
that it should be done in accordance with the laws of the country and
that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) must stop
behaving as if it is above the law.
While describing the remand order reportedly granted to the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to detain the former Minister
of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode indefinitely as a show of judicial
rascality, the governor said; “it is worrisome that some court
magistrates, especially in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have
turned themselves into allies of the EFCC in its persecution of
Nigerians who are opposed to President Mohammadu Buhari’s anti-people
policies.”
He cautioned court magistrates in the country, especially those in the
FCT against the continuous disobedience to the directive of the Chief
Judge of the FCT, Justice Ishaq Bello that they should desist from
granting remand orders to the EFCC to detain suspects indefinitely,
saying; “It now appears that these magistrates are operating as if
they are superior to the FCT Chief Judge.”
Justice Bello had said during his visit to the Keffi Medium Prison in
Keffi, Nasarawa State that; “I understand that EFCC has been bringing
some cases to you and you have been granting them remand orders. You
must no longer do this from today.”
He noted that “it is obvious that the EFCC is either corrupting the
magistrates to obtain the remand orders or they are being blackmailed
and coerced by the anti-corruption agency.”
Governor Fayose said; “In saner climes, anti-corruption agencies don’t
go about arresting suspects, detaining them arbitrarily and coercing
them to make statements implicating themselves. Rather,
anti-corruption agencies must have gotten all they needed to prosecute
a suspect before arresting him.
“It is even more questionable that the court order secured by the
EFCC to detain Fani-Kayode indefinitely was gotten barely 24 hours
after the former minister was granted administrative bail by the same
EFCC.
“How can someone be granted administrative bail and while he was
trying to meet the bail conditions, the EFCC clandestinely rushed to a
magistrate court to secure an order to detain him indefinitely? Isn’t
that a clear show of executive rascality?”
Buhari’s utterances outside Nigeria was the reason the British Prime
Minister, David Cameron described Nigeria as "fantastically corrupt",
saying; “What do you expect from the international community when the
president of a nation keeps going abroad to say that his people are
corrupt?”
He said it was annoying that President Buhari said he was embarrassed
and shocked by Cameron’s comment, adding that instead of telling
Nigerians that he was shocked, the president should apologise to
Nigerians for demarketing the country and his people.
The governor, who spoke through his Special Assistant on Public
Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka said it was on record that
in February this year, President Buhari said in United Kingdom that
“Nigerians' reputation for crime has made them unwelcome in Britain”
and went on to warn Nigerians to stop trying to make asylum claims in
Britain, saying that their reputation for criminality has made it hard
for them to be accepted abroad.
He said; “When a president mounts the podium in foreign lands and
gleefully says that his own people are criminals, that they are
corrupt and that those abroad should be sent back home, why won’t
presidents of other countries brand all citizens of such a country as
fantastically corrupt?
“Rather than this grandstanding from the presidency, conceited efforts
should be made to redeem the image of Nigeria that the president has
destroyed.”
Governor Fayose, who said he was not against the anti-corruption
efforts of the federal government, added that all he was saying was
that it should be done in accordance with the laws of the country and
that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) must stop
behaving as if it is above the law.
While describing the remand order reportedly granted to the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to detain the former Minister
of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode indefinitely as a show of judicial
rascality, the governor said; “it is worrisome that some court
magistrates, especially in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have
turned themselves into allies of the EFCC in its persecution of
Nigerians who are opposed to President Mohammadu Buhari’s anti-people
policies.”
He cautioned court magistrates in the country, especially those in the
FCT against the continuous disobedience to the directive of the Chief
Judge of the FCT, Justice Ishaq Bello that they should desist from
granting remand orders to the EFCC to detain suspects indefinitely,
saying; “It now appears that these magistrates are operating as if
they are superior to the FCT Chief Judge.”
Justice Bello had said during his visit to the Keffi Medium Prison in
Keffi, Nasarawa State that; “I understand that EFCC has been bringing
some cases to you and you have been granting them remand orders. You
must no longer do this from today.”
He noted that “it is obvious that the EFCC is either corrupting the
magistrates to obtain the remand orders or they are being blackmailed
and coerced by the anti-corruption agency.”
Governor Fayose said; “In saner climes, anti-corruption agencies don’t
go about arresting suspects, detaining them arbitrarily and coercing
them to make statements implicating themselves. Rather,
anti-corruption agencies must have gotten all they needed to prosecute
a suspect before arresting him.
“It is even more questionable that the court order secured by the
EFCC to detain Fani-Kayode indefinitely was gotten barely 24 hours
after the former minister was granted administrative bail by the same
EFCC.
“How can someone be granted administrative bail and while he was
trying to meet the bail conditions, the EFCC clandestinely rushed to a
magistrate court to secure an order to detain him indefinitely? Isn’t
that a clear show of executive rascality?”
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