Date Published: 08/23/09

Momoh, Oluyede face-off: El-Rufai explains role

Nasir El-Rufai

Former Nigerian Federal Capital Territory Minister, Mr. Nasir El-Rufai on Tuesday in U.S. reacted to allegations of allowing personal family disagreement to inform his take-over of a house belonging to erstwhile Chairman of the country’s Code of Conduct Tribunal, late Justice Sambo, saying the accusation was “wrong and baseless.”

In an interview with pointblanknews.com Mr. El-Rufai credited for restoring F.C.T. original master-plan and building an ultra-modern nation capital at enormous discomfiture for the poor, explained that the revision of the house sale to both Justices Sambo and D.A.O Oluyede was a decision of Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council under the presidency of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.

According to El-Rufai, it was a decision taken in respect of all serving Judges including Justices of High Court Cadre, the category to which the Judges and members of the Code of Conduct Tribunal belong.

He said that only two Justices of the Tribunal, namely Sambo and Oluyede were sold houses, a transaction which was later arbitrarily annulled.

An account of the reversal, Professor Oluyede has instituted a court action against parties who recently took possession of his own property with excessive force.

El-Rufai, was presently sojourning in the United State as an international student initially displayed a siege and belligerent posture before volunteering his perspective on the scandal. He said that he would not talk about Justice Sambo, because he is now deceased since there would be no fair way for the dead to defend himself.

He also said that it was a violation of his faith as a northern Nigerian Moslem to be accused of having lingering family feud with late Sambo. He said it would not matter whatever pointblanknews.com reported about him.

Reminded that it was a sacred duty to be fair and objective to all parties to any report, he said that aggrieved individuals must seek redress through the law court.

He had no comment on Justice Constance Momoh’s disregard for due process and using him as a leash for seizure of private properties in Abuja.

Both El-Rufai and Justice Momoh had alleged that a refund of professor Oluyede’s N4Million deposit was made but there is no evidence to that effect. Rather, pointblanknews.com discovered from findings that they are still holding on to the money while disregarding court injunctions that ordered a stay of action on repossessing the property.