The All Progressives Congress and the Presidency have called on former President Goodluck Jonathan to allow the court to decide the fate of his former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd).
Jonathan had said when he delivered a lecture at the Oxford Union in the United Kingdom that it was inconceivable to say that Dasuki stole $2.2bn.
“They said the National Security Adviser (Sambo Dasuki) stole $2.2bn. I don’t believe somebody can just steal $2.2bn,” the former President said.
‘‘We bought warships, we bought aircraft, we bought lots of weapons for the Army and so on and so forth and you are still saying $2.2bn (was stolen). So, where did we get the money to buy all those things?”
However, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mr. Timi Frank, urged Jonathan to assist Dasuki to make his case in court.
Frank said it would be more appropriate for the ex-President to assist in the investigation and prosecution of the case than to say his former NSA didn’t steal the $2.1bn.
He said, “First, I wonder why it took former President Jonathan such a long time to speak out. Why now? If Colonel Dasuki (retd) is as clean as he wants us to believe, it would be nice if he can assist his former NSA to prove his case in court.
“The courts deal with evidence; let them prove their case.”
The Presidency also called on Jonathan to allow the court to decide the fate of his former NSA.
When asked to react to the comment, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said the courts should be allowed to decide the matter which he said was subjudice.
“The matter is subjudice. Let the courts decide,” the presidential spokesman said.
In the same vein, the Senator Ali Modu Sheriff-led faction of the PDP, a party the ex-President belongs to, also asked him to allow the court to do its job in the trial of Dasuki and other suspects, accused of benefiting from the arms cash diversion.
The faction said it was happy that neither Dasuki nor any other suspects claimed that they gave part of the money under investigation to it during the last general elections.
Spokespersons for the Sheriff-led faction of the party, Mr. Bernard Mikko, stated this in an interview with one of our correspondents on Tuesday.
Mikko stated, “We don’t want to take issue with the former President on this matter, but we will want to say that the suspect and others like him, should be allowed to face their trial.
“Let the court determine if they are culpable or not. It is not our duty to defend or castigate anyone.
“It is also gratifying to know that none of these suspects has said he or she paid money to the PDP. So, we don’t have issues with that.”
PUNCH
