Letter war: Rights commission to summon Obasanjo over allegations
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is set to summon former President Olusegun Obasanjo to appear and defend the allegations in his letter to President Goodluck Jonathan.
President Jonathan was said to have directed the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN) to forward the December 2, 2013 letter to the commission for investigations into the alleged rights’ violations contained in the letter, the former ordered the commission to probe same.
The AGF in a memo obtained by our correspondent, dated December 23 and addressed to the Executive Secretary, NHRC, Prof. Bem Angwe, the minister requested the commission to investigate the alleged human rights’ violations contained on pages 9-10 of the December 2 letter.
The memo reads in part:
Re: Before it is too late:
“May I draw your attention to the above and the attached State House memorandum dated December 23, 2013 in respect of the above subject matter.
“I am to request you to investigate the allegations bordering on the human rights’ violations contained on pages 9-10 of the letter dated December 2, 2013, written by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR to President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR attached to the memorandum under reference.
“In order to properly delineate the issues within your sphere of competence particularly as other issues raised in the letter are being investigated by appropriate agencies of government, I have decided to reproduce the relevant paragraphs below.
According to Adoke, the paragraphs to be investigated by the commission are;
“Allegations of keeping over 1, 000 people on political Watch List rather than criminal or security Watch List and training snippets and other armed personnel secretly and clandestinely acquiring weapons to match for purposes like Abacha and training them where Abacha trained his own killers, if it is true, it cannot augur well for the initiator, the government and people of Nigeria.
Here again, there is lesson of his to learn from anybody who cares to learn from history. Mr. President would always remember that he was elected to maintain security for all Nigerians for personal or political ambition or interest of anyone.
The Yoruba race adage says, “the man with whose head coconut is broken, may not live to savour the taste of the succulent fruit”. Those who advise you to go hard on those who oppose you are your worst enemies. Democratic politics admits and is permissible of supporters and opponents. When the consequences come, those who have wrongly advised you will not be there to help carry the can. Egypt must teach some lessons.
“Presidential assistance for a murderer to evade justice and presidential delegation to welcome him home can only be in bad taste generally but particularly to the family of the victim. Assisting criminals to evade justice cannot be part of the job of the presidency.
Or, as it is viewed in some quarters, is he being recruited to do for you what he had done for Abacha in the past? Hopefully, he should have learnt his lesson. Let us continue to watch”.
Source: Sun