Admission: Tinubu’s Drug Biz Was Over 10 years Ago; He Can Be President Now, Says Bayo Onanuga

Date:

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Bayo Onanuga, chief spokesman for -elect Bola , on Saturday argued that his principal's racket in the United States happened more than 10 years ago and cannot, therefore, be used as a basis to truncate his victory at the polls last month.

“The Obidiots don't read. They live in a cocoon of falsehood and contrived propaganda,” Mr Onanuga said while responding to a tweet from Ayo Obe, another surrogate of Mr Tinubu's, who said the new leader cannot be sacked by the Supreme because his established drug trafficking case in Chicago was already statute-barred.

Mrs Obe cited Section 137 (1)e) of the Constitution that said a Nigerian cannot be elected president within 10 years of a conviction for offences brought by the Code of Conduct Bureau.

“A person shall not be qualified for to the office of President if within a period of less than ten years before the date of the election to the office of President he has been convicted and sentenced for an offence involving dishonesty or he has been found guilty of the contravention of the Code of Conduct,” the section said.

Mrs Obe, however, left out the preceding section of the Constitution, Section 137 (1)(d), that disqualified anyone who had been fined for any offences in the past from becoming president. That section, which applies to Mr Tinubu's forfeiture of over $460,000 due to drug crimes in Chicago in 1993, did not give any timeline under which a convict can be released to run for 's presidency.

It only said: “A person shall not be qualified for election to the office of President if he is under a sentence of imposed by any competent court of law or tribunal in Nigeria or a sentence of imprisonment or fine for any offence involving dishonesty or fraud (by whatever name called) or for any other offence, imposed on him by any court or tribunal or substituted by a competent authority for any other sentence imposed on him by such a court or tribunal.”

In 2014, the Supreme Court defined forfeiture as punishment for an offence under Nigerian criminal statutes.

“The word “forfeiture” means – “the divestiture of property without compensation. The loss of a right, privilege, or property because of a crime, breach of obligation, or neglect of duty,” the court ruled on January 17, 2014, in Mohammed Abacha and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“A person who has forfeited property on the basis of a crime cannot be entitled to indemnity. Forfeiture is a form of punishment. There is no indemnity in our criminal procedure,” the court further stated in a majority decision delivered by now-Chief Justice Olukayode Ariwoola.

Mr Tinubu's drug case is among the key grounds for Mr Tinubu's disqualification in the election petition filed by 's presidential candidate against the declaration of Mr Tinubu as president-elect in the February 25 presidential election.

Mr Onanuga's aggression on Mr Obi's supporters comes as Nigerian security agencies are warning citizens to tone down confrontation on social media.

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Share post:

Subscribe

Popular

More like this
Related

Dele Alake speaks on alleged appointment as spokesman

Mr. Dele Alake, a former Commissioner for Information in...

Just In:  DSS Blocks EFCC Officials From Accessing Office Over Ownership

Officials of the State Security Service (SSS) Tuesday morning...

Hon. EJ Agbonayinma mourns High Chief Raymond Dokpesi

A federal commissioner at the Code of Conduct Bureau...

Welcome back home worthy son: Wike’s dad and mum hug him after 8yrs political sojourn(PHOTOS) 

After eight years of political sojourn, strong man of...