Welcome, Guest: Register On Nairaland / LOGIN! / Trending / Recent / NewStats: 3,195,519 members, 7,958,573 topics. Date: Wednesday, 25 September 2024 at 05:40 PM |
Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Politics / Why Buhari Convicted My Dad- Ayo Ambrose Alli (1784 Views)
Ministerial List: Why Buhari Holds On To 15 Other Nominees / Saraki Hired Uboh, Convicted Credit Card Fraudster, To Smear EFCC-SaharaReporter / Meet The New Chief-Of-Staff, Hamid Ibrahim-Alli (2) (3) (4)
(1) (Reply)
Why Buhari Convicted My Dad- Ayo Ambrose Alli by asodeboyede(m): 10:09am On Nov 11, 2014 |
On what grounds are you faulting the tribunal that was duly set up by the Buhari-led military junta to try your dad and several other politicians of the time? That’s an interesting question. ‘Duly set up’ ignores the fact that the Buhari military government itself was technically illegal and illegitimate. Coups were defined as treason by the military themselves after the assassination of Murtala Muhammed in 1976. So, can an illegal administration ‘duly set up’ anything? But that’s perhaps an academic argument, but what’s not in dispute is that the junta had an agenda. For instance, let’s examine the tribunal and its processes for one minute. The accused had no legal representation, in dad’s case, witnesses were harassed and intimidated (detained & threatened with prosecution if they didn’t testify against him); they were not allowed to see any evidence against them; and the accused were questioned in what can only be called an abusive manner verging on torture. Dad, like several others, for instance, was denied medication for blood pressure and diabetes. That, in itself, would be grounds to quash any conviction in a country that has a modicum of justice and strong, working, legal institutions. Also it seems that the tribunal (of 3 serving military officers and 1 judge), was ordered to find dad guilty. A senior member of the Supreme Military Council, or whatever they called themselves, from Bendel State intimated that to me after he had retired from public life. Former vice president, Alex Ekwueme, also refers to this in his autobiography: dad, Bisi Onabanjo, Bola Ige, and Adekunle Ajasin, were announced as being guilty of the specific offence by Idiagbon before they were even charged with it. Interesting that dad was the only politician from Bendel State found guilty and jailed for any offences (others were detained). Also, he was tried for several things. Even the tribunal could not find him guilty of corruptly enriching himself or any other individual. Rather, he was found guilty of ‘corruptly enriching his political party’ – and, unlike what some think, he didn’t give state funds to the UPN. Rather, a campaign contribution was given to the UPN treasurer in Bendel State by a contractor to the Bendel State Government. Dad accepted that as UPN chairman in the state and the chief executive of the state he was responsible, even though he himself did not personally accept or disburse the money. Dad described the tribunal as a ‘Kangaroo Court,’ which is what it was. It is interesting to note that the chairman of the tribunal, General Ndiomu, had some form in chairing tribunals that gave verdicts the incumbent dictator wanted. He chaired the tribunal that sentenced General Vatsa to death on very flimsy circumstantial evidence, and that’s being generous. This is not to say that politicians in the 2nd Republic were not corrupt or that none found so by any tribunal wasn’t. Even a broken clock is right twice a day. But dad’s real ‘crime’ (as far as the junta was concerned), was political. My father’s establishing the derivation of oil revenue as a constitutional reality in Nigeria by successfully taking the FGN to the court to establish fiscal federalism. Buhari’s views on that are very well known. The 1.5 percent revenue derived is what funded my dad’s school buildings and public health programmes. If he had the 13 percent they have today, who knows what he might have done. Now, do you think he was the victim of a terrible injustice or not? Where is the former first lady, widow of the late former governor, Ambrose Alli? My mother lives in the UK. She is well, happily retired and enjoying her grandchildren. She recently turned 70, we thank God. Why did she relocate and for how long has she been away? She relocated for the reasons stated above. She was forced to by constant harassment. Also, she had options – for which we thank God. You said somewhere that your dad does not need a pardon because he was not guilty of any crime, meaning he was unjustly convicted and imprisoned. What else could be done by government with regards to the conviction? I said we are loath to accept a pardon because you pardon the guilty. Accepting a pardon implicitly and explicitly admits guilt. Again, I am not a lawyer, I studied geology for a degree, and West African Politics & Creative Business Management at post- graduate – but it seems to me, when you examine the circumstances, that there are grounds to quash his conviction. Has your family made any case for a possible reversal of the judgment that convicted your dad? I met with, and wrote formally to the current Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, on all these matters a couple of times. So far, despite a seemingly positive disposition, we have had no official acknowledgement, response, or action. Is your family planning a special event to commemorate your late father’s anniversary? Next year is the 25th anniversary of his death on 22nd September – it would have been his 85th birthday. We are examining and exploring doing something to mark it. But the best thing we can do is see that he gets justice and has his name cleared. I would add that if you consider the way dad was treated and his narrative, it is no wonder that politicians in Nigeria are the way they are. Would you rather steal billions and live a comfortable or luxurious life with your family or serve your people, die a pauper and leave your family to the tender mercies of Nigeria? Could you narrate a bit of what you people suffered following the death of your father? I’m sure you’ll appreciate that some of the details are personal and painful. Our dad was sentenced to 100 years in jail and was there for five years. To get some idea of what our mother went through, when your house is ransacked by 30 heavily armed soldiers of the Nigerian Army, in full combat attire, all your husband’s properties seized and bank accounts frozen, you are regularly harassed and questioned by the security services, perhaps you’ll understand something of what she experienced under the Buhari junta. Although she was a senior midwife of over 20 years experience, when she finally had enough and joined us, the children in exile in the UK, mum had to start again as a newly qualified midwife. She worked in the UK National Health Service until she retired a few years ago. We, children, were lucky that we had an English grandmother who had the means to help us go to good schools in the UK. How did you get over the trauma? Well, human beings are resilient. It took some time. It wasn’t until the response we saw at dad’s burial that we realised the regard and affection the people of the then Bendel State and Nigeria had for him. Also, we were taught to try and forgive people who wrong us, and to believe in justice. Culled from The Daily Independent 1 Like 1 Share
|
Re: Why Buhari Convicted My Dad- Ayo Ambrose Alli by MaleoPearls(m): 10:37am On Nov 11, 2014 |
If you pple don't want us to vote for GMB, then bring someone else but definitely not "that man" 1 Like |
(1) (Reply)
I May Pick Muslim Running Mate If... —buhari / APC Crowd In Abeokuta Massive, PDP In Shock / v
(Go Up)
Sections: politics (1) business autos (1) jobs (1) career education (1) romance computers phones travel sports fashion health religion celebs tv-movies music-radio literature webmasters programming techmarket Links: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) Nairaland - Copyright © 2005 - 2024 Oluwaseun Osewa. All rights reserved. See How To Advertise. 24 |