A legal luminary
Professor Itse Sagay SAN, has come under heavy knocks by former President Goodluck
Jonathan over a statement that Jonathan should confess his involvement in the
deal before he is arrested.
Jonathan faulted Sagay
over the statement saying that as a respected learned scholar, he should know
that you don’t hang a suspect on the pages of newspaper or via social media
until he or she is found guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction.
The former President in a
statement issued by Dr. Abubakar Sulaiman, his former minister of National
Planning, stated that, “one should expect the respected learned scholar to
know that you don’t hang a suspect on the pages of newspaper or via social
media until he or she is found guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction”.
Professor Sagay who is
also chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Corruption, has advised
Jonathan to secretly confess all he knew about the scandalous $2.1 billion arms
deal, to which his name has been linked, by President Muhammadu Buhari.
He stated during the week
that if Jonathan goes by the advice, he may be accorded the respect due to him
by virtue of being a former president.
Sagay, however pointed
out that the case of the former president being arrested relating to the arms
scandal is a “sensitive one”, adding that his concession of defeat to Buhari
during the March 28 presidential election does not make Jonathan a hero, as
one good action could not correct several evil deeds.
Jonathan said the
statement credited to Prof Sagay on Dec 23, 2015, that tended to vilify former
President Jonathan on the ongoing arms scam is not only unfortunate but,
unprofessional.
“Accordingly, even where
the learned jurist feels passionate of such a sensitive but sensational issue,
he should know the right route to the villa rather than taking such prejudicial
position.
“It is high time our
legal luminaries confined themselves to the noble ethics of their profession
than toeing the path of some mischief politicians.
“And we pray that when
the report of his Committee finally comes out, it will reflect and incorporate
the noble principles of rule of law, fair hearing and impartiality so as to
meet the irreducible minimum standard expected in matters of this nature. We
also pray that it may not end up dashing, rather than raising the hopes of
average Nigerian in the vintage APC fashion, as with most things these days”,
he stated.
-Sun News
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