Corruption prosecution: frequent medical trips, ruse to avoid justice – CACOL

Against the backdrop of frequent requests for medical trip by suspects standing trial for corruption cases, Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL) has called on relevant agencies to allow the law take its course.

 

The rights group noted that prosecutions from Allison-Madueke Diezani, former Petroleum Minister to Sambo Dasuki, former National Security Adviser and from Patrick Akpobokemi Director General, NIMASA to Olisah Metuh, former PDP spokesperson, they have sought to evade prosecution on account of ill health.

 

CACOL says that while it is normal for people to fall sick, but directs that the law take its full course.

 

“We agree people can fall sick at anytime, but that must not obstruct the course of justice, and this is not to say we do not empathize with the sick. Moreover, there are ‘medical facilities’ in prisons as ‘provided’ by some of these accused corruption elements when they were in government. Thus they have nothing to fear as they have already provisioned for medical facilities even in the prisons,” said Debo Adeniran, CACOL President

 

“We in CACOL, find their ‘I am Sick’ explanation as absolutely untenable and insulting, as an excuse or explanation which must be discountenanced by the Judiciary particularly in the cases of corruption. It represents an abuse of the collective intelligence of Nigerians,”

 

Continuing, he said “one wonders why accused corrupt persons in Nigeria seem not be in a hurry to clear their names even when they usually claim being innocent of the charges before they are prosecuted; they prefer media defense even before they are charged but are usually quick to criticize the authorities that anti-graft agencies engage in media prosecution.

 

“If you have been accused of stealing and your reaction is to say, ‘I am being persecuted’, ‘I am sick’, ‘it is because I am Igbo, Yoruba or Hausa’ without attempting to clear or clean your name first, this alone, certainly speak volumes about your character and indicative of your ‘guiltiness’. We therefore call on the Judiciary not to condone such lame excuses particularly because of the grievous damage their corrupt acts have done on the people and the Nation as an entity.

 

“The situation that the corrupt elements have put the country into is such that the victims of their corrupt acts are sicklier they claim to be. The poor, the ordinary people are the real victims of the corrupt practices perpetrated by these ‘I am sick’ elements. Let justice take its full course! Name, Nail, Shame and Shun Corrupt Leaders, Anywhere, Everywhere,” he said.

 

ISAAC ANYAOGU