The state pardon granted former Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, alongside other people convicted for political issues, makes mockery of Federal Government’s anti-corruption efforts, SAMUEL AWOYINFA writes
If two former chairmen of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu and Mrs Farida Waziri, do not agree on any other thing, they both believe that corruption has a way of fighting back in a society like Nigeria. While the first once noted that corruption is bound to fight back when you pursue it rigorously, the latter had said after she was relieved of her job, “if you fight corruption, corruption will fight you back.”
While both seem to have their own reasons for asserting so, many people believe that the situation has gone worse in Nigeria. Based on the state pardon granted former Bayelsa State Governor, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, alongside other prominent Nigerians on Monday, many have the cause to believe that corruption has indeed won the war.
Compared to efforts of his predecessors, especially Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, many believe that Goodluck Jonathan’s ‘quest’ to fight corruption has been dismal to say the least. This is evident in the way many Nigerians have reacted to the news of the pardon on The PUNCH website.
Others pardoned alongside Alamieyesigha are officials implicated in the late General Sani Abacha’s phantom coup saga – former Chief of General Staff, Oladipo Diya; former Chief of Staff, Supreme Military Council, Major General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua; the late former Minister of Works, Major General Abdulkareem Adisa, and Major Segun Fadipe. Others are Major Bello Magaji, and Mohammed Lima Biu.
Close watchers of events believe that Jonathan has taken the decision principally as a pay back gesture for Alamieyeseigha, to whom he was deputy governor in Bayelsa State. Many believe that the state pardon was done largely to give Alamieyeseigha ‘a soft landing’ so as enable him play a role in the new democratic dispensation. President Jonathan recently referred to him as his ‘benefactor’ and it goes without saying that he (Jonathan) still feels indebted to his former boss. Then, some had felt that it was not discreet enough for a President to profess that a court-certified culprit is his godfather. Now that Alams – as the former governor is popularly called – has got the ultimate, such people cannot but feel frustrated.
Alams was detained in London on charges of money laundering in September 2005. At the time of his arrest, Metropolitan police found about £1m in cash in his London home. Besides, they found a total of £1.8m ($3.2m) in cash and bank accounts. He was also found to own real estate in London worth an alleged £10 million.
He jumped bail in December 2005 from the United Kingdom by allegedly disguising himself as a woman, though he had denied the claim.
On June 28, 2012, the United States Department of Justice announced that it had executed an asset forfeiture order on $401,931 in a Massachusetts brokerage fund, traceable to Alamieyeseigha. U.S prosecutors filed court papers in April 2011 targeting the Massachusetts brokerage fund and a $600,000 Maryland home, which they alleged were the proceeds of corruption. A motion for default judgement and civil forfeiture was granted by a Massachusetts federal district judge in early June 2012. The forfeiture order was the first to be made under the Department of Justice fledgling Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative.
Again, on July 26, 2007, a Federal High Court in Lagos sentenced him to a two-year imprisonment. But the embattled former Air Force chief declared that he was never impeached from office and accused former President Olusegun Obasanjo of “sending a battalion from the Nigerian Army who over-ran the State House of Assembly.”
Speaking in the open court minutes before the verdict, he declared that if he was much younger, he would not have pleaded guilty to the charge in exchange for the sentence passed on him by the trial judge, Mr. Justice Mohammed Shuiabu.
On July 27, just hours after being taken to prison, he was released due to time already served. Yet in December 2009, the Federal Government hired a British law firm to help dispose of four expensive properties acquired by Alamieyeseigha in London. He had bought one of these properties for £1,750,000.00 in July 2003, paying in cash, which he used as his London residence, and as the registered office of Solomon and Peters Inc.
Although he had forfeited some of the properties said to have been acquired through lush funds, many believe the timing of his state pardon is wrong. To them, this is the time the crusade against all manner of shenanigans – insecurity, graft, nepotism, tribalism, corruption etc is gaining a momentum.
Meanwhile, the state pardon has generated reactions from Nigerians.
A social commentator, Kayode Ogundamisi, said, “If GEJ deems Dipreye Alamieyeseigha worthy of a presidential pardon, then why is James Ibori in a UK prison?”
Lawyer and activist, Bamidele Aturu, said, “Presidential pardon for criminals is official jailbreak.”
Another Nigerian, Abiodun Adeniran, had said, “That is the extent to which tribalism and ethnicity have completely destroyed the sense of reasoning of many Nigerians! It will beat your imagination how sane people can rise up to defend this despicable act! All because he is our son, our brother!”
Leke Akindele, in his reaction, said he couldn’t believe his ears when the news filtered in. “I dismissed it as Action Congress of Nigeria’s propaganda. It is not enough to grant state pardon to Alamieyeseigha, he should equally be given a national honour. Grand Commander of the Federal Republic will do for starters…”
Yet another commentator, anccozino, in his tweeter handle, @paul, wrote, “This is indeed sad for the nation, just wondering when we will start to get it right…. alams of all people. What is the rationale?”
However, one B. B stated that he did not see anything wrong in it. He argued, “Even if I am not an Ijaw man, did (former president Shehu) Shagari not grant pardon to late Ojukwu? OBJ was pardoned and released from prison for alleged coup plot. Also Diya, Adisa and Awolowo – then why is Alams case raising dust?”
credit--punchng
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