9.3 Million Dollar Saga: It Is Stolen Funds – Centrep …Calls on Army Council Not to Confirm Death Sentence on 12 Soldiers

By Francis Sadhere        

The Centre for the Vulnerable and the Underprivileged (Centrep), has described the 9.3 million dollar ferried in a chartered private Jet to South Africa, under the pretext of using the said funds for the purchase of arms as stolen funds, urging the South African Government to treat the matter as such until proven otherwise.

The Executive Director, Centrep, Barrister Oghenejabor Ikimi, stated this in a statement made available to journalists in Warri, Delta State.

While vehemently condemning the ferrying of a colossal sum of 9.3 Million Dollar in a chartered private Jet to South Africa, Barrister Ikimi stated that “Nigerians strongly believe the aforesaid money which was not declared by the Federal Government was one of those numerous monies stolen from our National treasury, and being ferried illegally into private foreign accounts reminiscent of the General Sani Abacha era.”

Barris Ikimi, therefore, urged the South African authorities to treat the said money as stolen funds until the contrary was proven, asking if the above act of the Presidency exemplify a cashless society policy it preaches back home?

The statement reads: “It is indeed sad, that despite the fact that a 2013 UN report placed Nigeria as the fifth poorest Nation on earth with over 100 Million Nigerians as destitute, courtesy of an earth quaking level of official corruption in the polity despite being the 6^th largest oil producing Nation in the World, the Nigerian Government have consistently failed to make the welfare of Nigerians their primary responsibility by neglecting to harness the abundant natural resources and human capital development in the country for the benefit of her traumatized citizens.

“We therefore call on the South African authorities to probe the said funds as Nigerians do not have any iota of confidence in any probe by the National Assembly after the allegation by Representative Aliyu Madaki from Kano State on the floor of the Nigerian House of Representatives that the sum of 50,000 Dollar bribe was offered each of the People’s Democratic Party lawmakers in the House to kill the motion to probe the 9.3 Million Dollar seized by the South African authorities. We further urge Nigerians to remain vigilant and to reject any attempt to sweep the matter under the carpet.”

Meanwhile, Centrep also called on the Army Council not to confirm the recent verdict of the Court Martial presided over by Brigadier-General C.C. Okonkwo delivered in Abuja which sentenced 12 Soldiers to death by firing squad for the offence of mutiny.

According to the statement; “We make bold to state that in as much as the offence of mutiny is a serious offence punishable by death in the military, we urge the Army Council to critically look into the circumstances that led to the said mutiny, as demonstrated by the Court of Appeal in the case of YUSSUF & 21 ORS VS. THE NIGERIAN ARMY, where the court took into consideration the circumstances that led to the mutiny by some Nigerian Soldiers at the Cairo International Airport and thereafter went ahead to quash their death sentences accordingly.”

Ikimi also stated that confirming the death sentences of the 12 Soldiers by the Army Council at this point in time could demoralize and send wrong signals to our Soldiers who he said, are presently prosecuting a war against the Boko Haram insurgents in the North Eastern part of our Country.

“However, we state that in the event of a confirmation of the death sentences on the 12 Soldiers in question by the Army Council, we shall have no other option than to commence an appeal at the Court of Appeal on behalf of the said Soldiers in the interest of justice and fair play as justice delayed is justice denied,” he stated further.