Some prominent
Nigerians on Sunday demanded that if the Chief Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur
Buratai, failed to resign from his position following the revelation that he
bought two houses in Dubai, worth $1.5m, he should be sacked by President
Muhammadu Buhari.
Those who called for
the Army chief’s resignation or sacking are human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi
Falana (SAN); another Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Mike Ozekhome; and
Second Republic House of Representatives member, Dr. Junaid Mohammed.
Others are the
Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, and the National
Publicity Secretary of the National Advance Party, Mr. Tosin Odeyemi.
Ozekhome specifically
demanded that Buratai should be tried before he would be allowed to resign.
The Catholic
Archbishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, said people who were found guilty
of stealing public funds, should not just be fired or allowed to resign but
should be made to return such money.
Odumakin, who said it
was not in the culture of Nigerians to resign for wrong-doing, however,
believed that the posture of the Buhari administration on the allegation
against Buratai cast a serious doubt on the anti-corruption war of the
administration.
But a SAN, Mr. Yusuf
Ali, and the Executive Director of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability
Project, Mr. Adetokunbo Mumumi, believed that the allegation against Buratai
should be thoroughly investigated before he would be asked to resign or be
sacked.
Falana said in a
statement that despite Buratai’s commendable feat of leading the Nigerian Army
to defeat Boko Haram in the North-East, the war on corruption was also a
must-win for the Buhari administration.
The lawyer described
as a “cock and bull story” the explanation by the Nigerian Army authorities
that Buratai paid for the properties in instalments through his personal
savings.
He regretted that the
name of the Nigerian Army had been “illegally” used to defend Buratai in the
unfolding scam.
While he condemned the
involvement of the Nigerian Army in defending Buratai, he said no one had yet
to explain to Nigerians how an army General could manage to save $1.5m.
He added, “In view of
the ban on the opening and operation of foreign accounts by public officers,
the Code of Conduct Bureau should be involved in the investigation.
“If the Chief of Army
Staff does not deem it fit to resign forthwith, President Buhari should not
hesitate to remove him in the interest of national morality.”
Falana commended the
Buhari administration for putting on trial military officers, allegedly
involved in the diversion of the sum of $15bn, meant for the procurement of
arms.
He said the alleged
diversion led to the killing of about 25,000 Nigerians by the Boko Haram sect
while two million others, including children, had been displaced.
‘‘How an army General
managed to save $1.5m has not been disclosed to Nigerians. Since the General
was in charge of procurement for the Nigerian Army at the material time, the
cock and bull story of the military high command has been called names,” the
SAN stated.
Mohammed called on
Buratai to honourably resign or be fired by Buhari.
Speaking with one of
our correspondents on Sunday, the Second Republic lawmaker noted that some of
Buratai’s predecessors from other parts of the country were currently facing
trial over their roles in helping themselves to funds meant for the procurement
of arms.
The medical
practitioner argued that it defied logic that Buratai, who was in charge of
procurement when these men held sway, had not been asked to give an account of
his stewardship.
Mohammed added, “The
fact that he was a long serving Director of Procurement at Defence Headquarters
when some of the nastiest procurements were made, not only for the Army but for
the Armed Forces, makes it incumbent on him to vacate his seat.
“The manner of his
leaving will require tact, which this administration has never demonstrated
from day one, but I believe that the options are clear: One which is my
suggestion is for Buratai to retire to go and leave his life quietly in
Buratai, his village, or elsewhere, he has tried in the fight against
insurgents.
“If Buratai does not
want to go that way honourably, he should be compulsorily retired or sacked
outright by the Commander-in-Chief.
“Nobody with any sense
of decency or justice can leave Buratai in service.”
In his reaction,
Ozekhome believed Buratai should not be removed without trial.
He said the government
should make the Chief of Army Staff undergo trial while still serving as a
military officer to prove that its anti-corruption war was not targeted at
profiled opponents.
Ozekhome said, “I will
rather urge that he be first tried through our criminal justice system trial, which
is accusatorial and not inquisitorial. When found guilty, he can then be
dismissed or court-martialled.
“Let the government
for once prove us wrong that its so-called anti-corruption war is not targeted
at profiled opponents by putting him through a trial as a serving military
officer. Just for once, I want to be proved wrong.”
Odumakin stated that
the position of the COAS had become “untenable” against the backdrop of the
illogical defence of Buratai by military authorities.
The Afenifere
spokesman added, “His position has become untenable with that expose and very
weak, feeble and sloppy defence. It is preposterous to ask the Federal
Government that cleared him, to now fire him. And resignation is not in the
dictionary of Nigerian officials, but he obviously is a blight on the
anti-corruption war.”
In his reaction,
Cardinal Onaiyekan said a proven allegation of corruption against the Army
chief would severely pollute the anti-graft war of the present administration
if not addressed.
The cleric stated,
“Let me say that the allegation of stealing public funds does not hide; it will
come out eventually. And like anybody else, he will face the music; whether he
should be punished now or retired should not be the issue.
“I am not one of those
who believe that when somebody has stolen a lot of money, you simply retire or
sack the person. That is not what it should be; if it is stealing, he should be
made to return the money. It is not a question of sacking somebody, and you
feel that is the punishment.
“What I am
saying is that if there is a case of misuse of public funds, he should be
treated that way. But like I told you, I don’t have the full picture of what is
involved, apart from what I read in the newspapers. Personally, I will want to
give the benefit of the doubt to the government that it knows what it is
doing.”
In the same vein,
Odeyemi, who spoke in an interview with one of our correspondents in Osogbo on
Sunday, said Buhari should order a thorough probe to ascertain where Buratai got
such huge amount of money to buy the properties.
The NAP spokesperson
alleged that Buhari had refused to investigate those in his cabinet for
corruption but had been chasing others especially those from other political
parties.,
“I believe Gen.
Buratai should resign immediately. Where did he get such money to buy the
properties in question? How much has he earned since he joined the Army? Does
he have another business?
“He should first
resign, and a proper investigation should be conducted to ascertain the truth.
Thank God he is already at the pinnacle of his career. If he is found guilty,
then he should be prosecuted. But he should be honoured and probably elevated
if he is found to be guiltless.”
Expressing a different
view, however, Ali said the call for Buratai’s resignation or sacking was
premature when the allegations had yet to be substantiated.
Ali added he was not
aware of any law in Nigeria, which prohibits a public official from owning
foreign properties except the properties were acquired with stolen public
funds.
The SAN said, “In the
first place, is it an offence for him to have properties outside of Nigeria?
What I know our law prohibits is for a public official to have foreign
accounts. I am not aware of any law that prohibits a public official from
having properties outside of Nigeria.
“So, except those who
are calling for his sacking could establish that it was public money that he
wrongly took; but then, that would also have to go through the court and not by
argument and newspaper attacks. So, for me, I think the call is a bit
premature.”
Mumumi, said the
position of SERAP was for the allegation against Buratai to first be thoroughly
investigated by the anti-graft agencies, after which necessary actions could
follow.
The SERAP boss added,
“Our position is to let the anti-graft agencies – the EFCC and the ICPC –
conduct a thorough investigation into the matter and let their findings be made
public. If you dismiss everybody based on allegations, that will be too
dangerous if eventually the person is found not guilty.”
The Catholics
Archbishop of Sokoto Diocese, Rev. Father Matthew Hassan Kukah, declined
comment.
“No comment. Thank
You,” he told one of our correspondents without giving any reason.
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