IBB should be tried, civil rights’ groups tell AGF

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Category: Politics
Published on Thursday, 08 April 2010 00:13
Written by Admin
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A coalition of civil rights’ groups had written to the new Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke SAN, asking him to prosecute former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida, over the alleged mismanagement of $12.4 billion oil windfall which accrued to the country during the Gulf War in 1991.

babangidaBabangida had hinted that he might run for president next year.

In a letter dated April 7th and addressed to the AGF, the groups threatened to go to court to compel Adoke to try Babangida.

The letter was jointly signed by Adetokunbo Mumuni, Executive Director, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), Joseph Otteh, Executive Director, Access to Justice (AJ), Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Kayode Ogundamisi, Convener, Nigeria Liberty Forum, London, Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, Executive Director, Women Advocates and Documentation Center (WARDC), Olanrewaju Suraju, Head, Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), Olasupo Ojo, President, Committee for Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), Itoro Eze-Anaba, Managing Partner, Partnership for Justice Moshood Erubami, President, Nigeria Voters Assembly (VOTAS), Tejumade Oke, Programme Director, Centre for the Rule of Law.

They also voiced their concern over the refusal of successive governments to act on an investigative report on the alleged scam since it was submitted to the late General Sani Abacha on August 29, 1994.

The government of former President Olusegun Obasanjo government reportedly claimed that the report could not be found.

According to the groups “to date, the report has not been released to the public, and no government’s White Paper has been adopted on the report. We are writing to request you to urgently and fully implement the recommendations of the late Dr Pius Okigbo Panel Report, which indicted former military president General Ibrahim Gbadamosi Babangida (rtd) over allegations of corruption and mismanagement of $12.4 1991 Gulf oil windfall by ensuring his immediate and fair prosecution. However, we are now in possession of the report, which we are enclosing with this letter.”