Charge Metuh To Court If You Have Evidence Of Fraud Against Him, Fayose Tells Buhari
The Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to direct the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to charge the National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Olisa Metuh, to court if the commission has evidence of fraud against him.
This was contained in a statement signed by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka.
Fayose, who said that the against All Progressives Congress (APC’s) desperation to silence the opposition had dragged the Buhari-led government in the mud of lawlessness, cautioned that nothing must happen to Metuh.
Advertisement
While restating his support for the anti-corruption war, Fayose asked why the commission has to first arrest and detain a person before shopping for evidence against him.
He said, “The EFCC appears to be operating a system in which an accused person is first arrested, detained endlessly while the anti-corruption agency goes about looking for evidence.
“In saner climes, you don’t arrest people for alleged fraud and start to look for evidence to prosecute them. Rather, before you arrest anyone for fraud, anti-corruption agencies must have established a prima facie case and arresting the suspect will only be for his or her arraignment in court.
“However, what we are witnessing in Nigeria today is a situation whereby the EFCC will arrest PDP leaders, humiliate them by subjecting them to media trial, detain them for weeks in the process of trying to force them to make statements during which the commission will be looking for evidence.
Advertisement
“For instance, in the case of Metuh, we are told that the EFCC is insisting that he must write statements and one begins to wonder if it has now become mandatory for an accused to write statements in law enforcement agent’s custody. Shouldn’t the EFCC have simply charged Metuh to court based on its own evidence? Or is Metuh’s statement the evidence the EFCC requires to prosecute him?
“The international community, especially the United Nations, African Union, European Union, and others are put on notice on this condemnable act of arresting and detaining opposition leaders by agents of the Buhari-led government before fishing for evidence.”
“Any anti-corruption effort that targets only members of the opposition and those with axe to grind with the government of the day can never succeed.
“If President Buhari does not wait for any petition to move against PDP chieftains, asking people to come forward with allegations of corruption against APC chieftains, especially those who sponsored President Buhari’s election is clearly hypocritical.”
