FORMER president Dr Goodluck Jonathan has said he will not comment on the ongoing Dasukigate scandal involving his former national security adviser because anything he says could affect witnesses and the judicial proceedings that have been initiated.
Speaking in Switzerland at the Geneva Press Club on Security and Development in Africa, Dr Jonathan said he would rather keep mum on the matter for now because the case is in court. Col Sambo Dasuki, Dr Jonathan's former national security adviser and several leading members of his government are facing charges of appropriating $2.1bn voted for military purposes.
Dr Jonathan said: “I would not like to comment now because the matter is in court but definitely, I will speak but for now, my comments may affect witnesses and the judicial process. When I was president, I tried to build institutions like the judiciary and guarantee the separation of power and the electoral bodies, so I should not be the one undermining the process.”
Fielding questions on a host of issues such as the Chibok girls, Boko Haram the economy and corruption, Dr Jonathan also spoke on why he did not challenge his electoral defeat in court. He also added that a lot of the figures being bandied about with regards to some of the corruption allegations are not accurate as they are highly inflated.
“I have an idea about some of the corruption cases you are talking about but the amounts being mentioned in some cases are so huge. People must think I was Nigeria’s president since independence, as I remember somebody said we lost $49bn in 18 months.
“The same man who made the allegation reduced the figure to 12bn, so I got forensic experts to probe the books of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to ascertain the veracity of the allegation. I even remember asking the German Chancellor who said if that amount of money was missing in her country, it would be a big issue."
He added that if Nigeria list such an amount of money within 18 months as the allegation said, the country would collapse. On the allegation that his government negotiated with fake Boko Haram members, Dr. Jonathan said it was not true.
Asked to comment on the statement of his former chief of defence staff who said the Nigerian Army knew where the Chibok girls were being held, the former president said when he heard the comment, he was surprised, adding he invited the service chief for a chat. He added that he would someday make public what they discussed.
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