Former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday replied to former Chief
of Army Staff, Maj.-Gen. Ishaya Bamaiyi’s allegation that he (Obasanjo)
wanted to kill him.
Obasanjo said he had no plan to kill Gen. Bamaiyi, adding that his
administration only asked him to answer questions on people he allegedly
killed.
The former President, who turned 80 last March, wondered what he would gain if he killed Bamaiyi.
He said: “Who the hell is he that I would want to kill him? Kill him, for what? To achieve what?”
Obasanjo spoke at his Presidential Hilltop Estate in Abeokuta, Ogun
State capital, during when he hosted the Correspondents Chapel of the
state’s chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
Obasanjo said: “That I wanted to kill him (Bamaiyi)? What of the
people he killed? My government did not plot to kill him. My government
asked him to answer to those that were alleged to have been killed by
him, and that is legitimate.
“That if there is an allegation that you have done something, that
you have committed a crime and you are arrested, you should answer.
That’s all: pure and simple. Who the hell is he that I would want to
kill him? Kill him for what? To achieve what? No!
“There were allegations. The police and other law enforcement agencies decided to look into the allegations.
“They invited him and they asked him to answer as a result of what
was found. So, they charged him to court.
So, it’s now up to him. The
investigators, as I said, the prosecutors and the Judiciary; that’s
all.”
The former President also suggested how to win the war against corruption.
According to him, thorough investigation, diligent prosecution and a
committed Judiciary” would guarantee effective and victorious war
against corruption.
Obasanjo urged anti-graft agencies to desist from engaging weak prosecutors but hire quality lawyers from within.
He noted that lawyers from outside the agencies could deliberately
file a wishy-washy case just to give the other party an avenue to escape
justice.
Obasanjo said: “I was reading today when the President (Muhammadu
Buhari) said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) should
stop losing cases. They lose cases for a number of reasons.
One, they
engage more of outside lawyers. I believe that they need ogbologbo (staunch) lawyers inside who will do the work.”
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