Impeachment: Fani-Kayode dares Jonathan to charge him for treason

December 17, 2013 by Temitayo Famutimi


Former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, on Monday kicked against the Presidency’s threat to charge some members of the All Progressives Congress with treason.

The President, through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, had on Sunday said that those “threatening fire and brimstone” and calling for his removal should be ready to face charges for treason.

Almost immediately, the Special Assistant to the President on New Media, Reno Omokri, as if to affirm’s the Presidency’s position, went on Twitter to describe members of the APC as ‘desperadoes’.

Omokri tweeted, “The desperadoes in the APC are advised to focus on selling themselves to Nigerians rather than raising false alarm. Whether the APC likes it or not, the President will continue to revive the railways, power and the economy, even in their states.

“President Jonathan was elected by the Nigerian electorate and the APC cannot get from the back door what the electorate denied them. The APC’s era of politics with bitterness is long gone. We are in an era of politics without ‘betterness’ which President Jonathan personifies.”

Responding to the comments, Fani-Kayode, a member of the APC and an ardent critic of Jonathan on social media, says he is waiting to be charged with treason as threatened by the Presidency.

“GEJ has threatened the leaders of the APC with treason for calling on the National Assembly to impeach him (Jonathan). I dare the President to carry out his threat,” he wrote in a message posted on Twitter.

But another critic of the President, former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and Deputy National Secretary of the APC, Mallam Nasir EL-Rufai, has yet to respond to the threat.

Meanwhile, some Nigerians have urged Jonathan not to plunge the nation into a fresh crisis by clamping down on the critics of his administration. They argued that calls for the removal of the President in a democracy, where citizens have the constitutional right to do so, should not result in charges for treason.

Writing on Abati’s website, www.reubenabti.com.ng, one Magaji described the threat as a subtle way of intimidating the masses and preventing them from expressing their opinion about the Jonathan administration.

“No meaningful Nigerian will believe that Jonathan is running a peoples government. What is the illegality of impeachment that warrants a threat with treason? Perhaps you are ignorant of Nigeria’s supreme law – the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“Jonathan is one of the worst presidents we ever have in the history of this nation. Come 2015, he will surely see the result of his leadership.

“It is time for the President to stop treating people as second class citizens. We are all equal in eyes of the law and the privilege of ruling this nation is not a license to oppress,” Magaji wrote.

In another message posted on Twitter, Dare Taiwo warned that a clampdown on people calling for the impeachment of the President will amount to a repression of the freedom of speech.

Arguing that comments attributed to the Presidency were increasingly becoming pedestrian, Taiwo said, “Treason? Do you (Presidency) know how many times the Tea Party and Rush Limbaugh (conservative American radio talk show host and political commentator) have called for the impeachment of American President, Barack Obama?

“Get enlightened! You need to stop responding to asinine comments. Comments like this make you guys in Aso Rock sound pedestrian.”

Also, Muhuyi Magaji said it was wrong on the part of Jonathan or his advisers to equate calls for his impeachment with treason.

He advised the President to study the democratic history and the constitution of the country well before allowing himself to be misled into fulfilling his threat.

“Impeachment Is not equal to treason. Not even during the stormy days of the Olusegun Obasanjo administration did the Presidency equate the several calls for Impeachment and removal from office as treason,” Magaji said.

In a single tweet to Abati, one Aminu Ayama, laments that his interpretation of the Presidency’s threat is that “treason is translated into going against the wish of the President under the current so-called democratic leadership.”

http://www.punchng.com/i-punch/impeachment-fani-kayode-dares-jonathan-to-charge-him-for-treason/

We knw Jonathan is senseless, but the people around him makes it worst...

But who advised jonathan to surround himself with too many attack dogs? Its giving him a guise of a leader who doesn't want to be criticized

How is dt for a democracy?

APC are doomed desparate for 2015 . the holy book says gardered they will surely gader and so shall they scater becouse their gadering is nt of the lord.

APC are doomed desparate for 2015 . the holy book says gardered they will surely gader and so shall they scater becouse their gadering is nt of the lord.(

This is on thing I hate about democracy.. Even Animals speaks! This FFF of guy should be in rehab... Gej is becoming too democrat to my liking..

...

Sorry Kayode,Jona can't do it. He's a good man but terrible President. See it from the way officials are getting away with all kinds of offences.

Orji o orji: APC are doomed desparate for 2015 . the holy book says gardered they will surely gader and so shall they scater becouse their gadering is nt of the lord.

Mind you that Bisi Akande, Fani kayode, Obassanjo and so many critics of this vagabond regime are also beneficiary of your quotation above. Is it that any Christian that rise to power becomes custodian of God's laws? Very archaic indeed!

I can't remember Jonathan calling Fani's name as i don't think he knows who Fani Kayode is. This guy should stop over-estimating his importance.

FFK has a case with the EFCC and that will put him behind bars forever .
He does not need treasonable offense

Orji o orji: APC are doomed desparate for 2015 . the holy book says gardered they will surely gader and so shall they scater becouse their gadering is nt of the lord.

you mean gathering against a corrupt president is not of the lord? Remember abacha.

Adindu peter: This is on thing I hate about democracy.. Even Animals speaks! This FFF of guy should be in rehab... Gej is becoming too democrat to my liking..

get educated abt democracy and stop foolishness.

If FFK is crushed, even the APC won't have his time cos he doesn't have any political worth . . .

Orji o orji: APC are doomed desparate for 2015 . the holy book says gardered they will surely gader and so shall they scater becouse their gadering is nt of the lord.(

Keep bible out of politics. Your mediocrity is alarming pls

Please whats his latest handle on nairaland so I'll know when he comments on this thread abeg.
Am currently watching out for t8ksy and t9ksy. Please update on the latest if you know.
It's really amazing to know that some of these old guys are very active on nairaland.

Orji o orji: APC are doomed desparate for 2015 . the holy book says gardered they will surely gader and so shall they scater becouse their gadering is nt of the lord.(

THIS MUST BE A PRODUCT OF ARIARIA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, ABA.

Kamsy10: Please whats his latest handle on nairaland so I'll know when he comments on this thread abeg.
Am currently watching out for t8ksy and t9ksy. Please update on the latest if you know.
It's really amazing to know that some of these old guys are very active on nairaland.

this FFK of a losers latest handles or aliases on NAIRALAND are SCIPIO AFRICANUS, JULIANBOND, ORLANDO OWOH to mention but a few but these ones have actually been traced to him in addition to T8KSY and T9KSY. Since his whole existence centers around social media, expect to see more monikers from this notorious Pedoph1Le who has resorted to banging his own daughters.

Whats FFK doing in APC?

I wonder if his joining is a PDP ploy to scatter the APC, by somehow taking actions that would be blamed on APC, which FG could use to justify acting against APC.

Same thing goes for Al Rufai, both worked closely with Thief Obasanjo in he destruction of Nigeria and suddenly both are now progressives although they have never once acknowledged that Thief Obasanjos adminstration was the most corrupt and wasteful in our history.

This continued lack of intelligence exhibited by these people is getting increasingly sinful by the day! The act of calling for Impeachment is not and has never been equated to treason. Treason has several dictionary and constitutional definitions; the most appropriate as regarding this case are: 1. A crime that undermines the offenders Government (Advanced English dictionary and thesaurus). 2. The crime of betraying one's country by attempting to overthrow the government. 3. Conspiracy to overthrow the government ( Oran's dictionary of the law). Reuben Abati, in that press release, accused APC of deliberately over-heating the polity and working to cause public disaffection against the Government by SPREADING LIES, LEVELLING FALSE ACCUSATIONS AND UNJUSTIFIABLE INDICTMENTS. If taken out of context, the capitalized acts would amount to nothing more than crimes of slander or libel ( but the established fact remains: they are crimes). When put into context, it is evident that this persistent spread of baseless toxicity is targeted to achieve mass insurrection and panic so that there is unjustified, insurmountable, pressure to impeach the Government ( the APC dIdnt even waIt for the NASS to carry out proceedIngs as It deems fIt, they are now pressurIzIng the legIslature to Impeach) A CRIME THAT UNDERMINES THE GOVT, CONSPIRACY TO OVERTHROW, ERGO TREASON.

The key part to this is that the accusations of the APC and OBJ can be refuted by the Government. If this is done, that automatically indicts the accusers. The government has begun already by getting PWC to audit NNPC's 50b dollar scandal and it has been determined that that accusation was indeed baseless. If OBJ knows what could be at stake, he should ask for auditors of his choosing to run a check. As for the 1000 snipers, the Govt can not provide evidence that something does not exist rather if OBJ claims that there are snipers he should provide evidence of their existence. There have been claims of "unprecedented" corruption, do they even know what the word "unprecedented" means? That alone has given this government an out because for every act of perceived impunity, they would be able to refere to an equal act of impunity in the past. The courts would deal with statistics.

All the allegations would be addressed and it would be clear to everyone why the Government has alluded to treason. The right to speak freely does not protect you when you are deliberately causing harm to someone else with your speech ( conflicting with that someone else's right to safety) and it doesn't permit spreading malicious lies.

FFK,I can c clearly dat u re lookin 4 cheap popularity, go gt urslf somfin doin so as

Una want kill jonathan?