Former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday replied to former Chief of Army Staff, Maj.-Gen. Ishaya Bamaiyi’s allegation that he (Obasanjo) wanted to kill him.
Obasanjo said he had no plan to kill Gen. Bamaiyi, adding that his administration only asked him to answer questions on people he allegedly killed.
The former President, who turned 80 last March, wondered what he would gain if he killed Bamaiyi.
He said: “Who the hell is he that I would want to kill him? Kill him, for what? To achieve what?”
Obasanjo spoke at his Presidential Hilltop Estate in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, during when he hosted the Correspondents Chapel of the state’s chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
Obasanjo said: “That I wanted to kill him (Bamaiyi)? What of the people he killed? My government did not plot to kill him. My government asked him to answer to those that were alleged to have been killed by him, and that is legitimate.
“That if there is an allegation that you have done something, that you have committed a crime and you are arrested, you should answer. That’s all: pure and simple. Who the hell is he that I would want to kill him? Kill him for what? To achieve what? No!
“There were allegations. The police and other law enforcement agencies decided to look into the allegations.
“They invited him and they asked him to answer as a result of what was found. So, they charged him to court. So, it’s now up to him. The investigators, as I said, the prosecutors and the Judiciary; that’s all.”
The former President also suggested how to win the war against corruption.
According to him, thorough investigation, diligent prosecution and a committed Judiciary” would guarantee effective and victorious war against corruption.
Obasanjo urged anti-graft agencies to desist from engaging weak prosecutors but hire quality lawyers from within.
He noted that lawyers from outside the agencies could deliberately file a wishy-washy case just to give the other party an avenue to escape justice.
Obasanjo said: “I was reading today when the President (Muhammadu Buhari) said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) should stop losing cases. They lose cases for a number of reasons. One, they engage more of outside lawyers. I believe that they need ogbologbo (staunch) lawyers inside who will do the work.”
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