APC calls for Ex-President's arrest over corruption

dimeji akinloye

October 31, 2016 6:02 AM

The APC said Jonathan has no moral standing to defend Dasuki given the monumental corruption that characterised his govt.

The All Progressive Congress (APC) has called for the arrest of former president

The party's Lagos chapter made the call on Sunday, October 30, in reaction to Jonathan's recent statement, where he defended his National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki over the alleged $2.1 billion arms fraud.

Jonathan had said it is impossible for Dasuki to have stolen $2.1 billion budgeted for the purchase arms for the military, arguing that his administration procured arms and ammunition with the funds.

"We bought warships, we bought aircraft, we bought lots of weapons for the army," he said in a recent interview at the Oxford Union in the United Kingdom.

The APC berated Jonathan's comment, saying it is surprising that the former president would defend Dasuki at a time when many who served under his government are already returning stolen funds.\

In a statement by its spokesman, Joe Igbokwe, it said instead of Jonathan to concentrate on redeeming his smeared image, he is busy defending his 'corrupt' subordinates.

The statement said: "Even as we concede that Jonathan is on a desperate bid to rehabilitate himself, we wouldn’t believe that a former President should be so contemptuous of the intelligence of Nigerians as to give the kind of defence he gave to Sambo Dasuki.

"We wonder what Jonathan makes of the horrid details that are emanating from the Dasukigate issue with shocking evidences, confessions and even refunds made by those that participated in that monumental corruption.

"To claim that Dasuki and his partners did not steal the arms purchase fund reveals the inner beliefs of Jonathan.

"One would have expected Jonathan to be cautious in seeking to advance very childish and inadmissible exculpation of his subordinates for glaring acts of corruption. We had expected that Jonathan would have striven to water down the lowly impression held of him by Nigerians and the international community by not deciding to be so patronising to clear cases of corruption by his subordinates.

"By Jonathan’s defence of Sambo Dasuki, we believe time has come for the security agencies to pick up Jonathan to tell the nation all that he knows of the many cases of corruption that happened under him."

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Dasuki is facing trial for alleged possession of illegal firearms and money laundering, which he had pleaded not guilty.

dimeji akinloye