Obanikoro should come back to Nigeria

monjola sotubo

June 16, 2016 1:00 PM

Obanikoro has been accused of participating in the $2.1 billion arms deal fraud and is also wanted for allegedly receiving a luxury vehicle from an associate of former minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke.

Arms Deal Scandal: Musiliu Obanikoro Is On The run?

Former Minister of State for Defence,

Obanikoro has been accused of participating in the $2.1 billion arms deal fraud and is also wanted for allegedly receiving a luxury vehiclefrom an associate of former petroleum minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, who is facing corruption charges herself.

The former minister’s sons, Gbolahan and Jide Obanikoro are also alleged to have received N4.75 billion from ex-National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki, who is believed to have supervised the arms deal fraud.

Obanikoro claims that he is not running away from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) but he has managed to keep himself and his sons out of the agency’s reach since investigations began.

“To begin with, no allegation has been made against me officially that I know of. Therefore, I have no reason to run. I know for sure that all the accusations in the media are in the realm of speculation,” he said.

To make the case official, the EFCC, on Tuesday, June 14, 2016, raided Obanikoro’s home in Parkview Estate and his son, Jide’s home on Onikoyi Drive in Ikoyi but found only the younger Obanikoro’s wife and children at home.

In response, the former minister said that he was being witch-hunted and dared the EFCC to extradite him from the US if it could.

“I cannot submit myself to such glaring witch-hunt, injustice and charade but I'll fight it legally, with God and clear conscience on my side. Rumours of extradition are also lies - false allegations cannot stand up to any decent legal inquiry in a civilised system such as in the US,” he said via a statementreleased on Wednesday, June 15.

“I welcome an extradition process as it will expose the shenanigans going on with their fraudulently fictitious fight against corruption,” he added.

If Obanikoro is so sure of his innocence, why doesn’t he come back willingly to prove it? Why is Jide Obanikoro in the US instead of in Ikoyi with his wife and children? The same Jide Obanikoro who was previously resident in Nigeria and contested the Lagos House of Assembly elections is now a resident of the US? Why?

The only way the former minister can convince Nigerians of his innocence, is by coming out of hiding and clearing his name, if it indeed can be cleared.

As Queen Elizabeth I said “A clear and innocent conscience fears nothing.”

monjola sotubo