Since assuming office, President Buhari has made fighting corruption his top priority and as part of his campaign, several prominent members of the Goodluck Jonathan administration have been arrested and charged to court. Former national security adviser Retired Col Sambo Dasuki has been at the centre of a corruption scandal involving the disbursement of $2.2bn earmarked for defence spending.
Apparently, the money meant for the purchase of arms for the army to fight the Boko Haram insurgency was used to bankroll the election campaign of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Apart from the fact that several prominent PDP members received large chunks of cash from the amount, it was also used to fund the campaigns of governors, legislators and that of former president Dr Goodluck Jonathan.
During the last presidential campaign, Chief Fani-Kayode was the PDP's media director and he has since become a fierce critic of President Buhari, accusing him of being selective in his fight against corruption. In his latest salvo, Chief Fani-Kayode warned that apart from Col Dasuki, other political detainees like Shiite cleric Sheik Ibrahim El-Zakzaky and Radio Biafra director Nnamdi Kanu must not be allowed to die in detention.
Chief Fani-Kayode said: “President Buhari and his government should please take note of the following. Sheik Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, Colonel Sambo Dasuki and Nnamdi Kanu must not be beaten, tortured, poisoned or murdered whilst they are in your custody or else all hell will break loose.”
Col Dasuki, was re-arrested last Wednesday by the State Security Service (SSS) after he was granted bail by three different courts. Similarly, Mr Kanu, who is spearheading the quest for an independent nation of Biafra, was granted bail by a federal high Court sitting in Abuja but was also re-arrested by the SSS, which slammed a fresh charge of treasonable felony against him.
Sheikh El-Zakzaky, the leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, is being held by the police after troops of the Nigerian Army killed dozens of his followers and destroyed the organisation’s headquarters in Zaria. President Buhari has said that Col Dasuki and Mr Kanu cannot be allowed to enjoy any form of freedom due to the enormity of their offences.
However, Chief Fani-Kayode has accused the president of making contradictory and patently dishonest assertions. He added that Nigerians look up to President Buhari for consistency, strength, unequivocal commitment, a firm resolve and leadership from the front that he promised during the presidential campaign.
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