Date Published: 11/10/09

Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL)

The Humanity Centre: 610, Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, Ijaye Bus stop, Ijaye-Ojokoro.

P.O. Box 1592, Agege, Lagos, Nigeria. Tel: 01-4736534, 08023226276, 08037194969

www.thehumanitycentre.org E-mail: cacolc@yahoo.com, dadnig@yahoo.com

Name, Nail, Shame and Shun Corrupt Leaders Anywhere, Everywhere

5 th October, 2009 
The Honourable Speaker
House of Representatives
Federal Republic of Nigeria
Three Arms Zone
Abuja, FCT
Nigeria 
Your Honourable 

PLEASE PREVAIL ON PRESIDENT YAR’ADUA TO SACK THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE AND ATTORNEY-GENERAL OF THE FEDERATION, MR MICHAEL AONDOAKAA 

Please recall that the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL)  staged a peaceful procession on October 7, 2009 to the office of the Governor of Lagos State to submit a letter on the above subject matter for onward transmission to President Umaru Yar’Adua. After the submission, we decided to allow the president act on the letter within two weeks before further actions are taken on it. The two weeks lapsed on 21 st of October without any visible action on our request from the president. Although we are dissatisfied by this act of flagrant disregard from the ‘servant leader’, we decided to wait for almost another two weeks yet we have not got any response from either the president or the presidency. 

It is against this backdrop that we observed that the president might not be interested in our request afterall. We therefore concluded that President Umar Yar’Adua might be the remote hand behind every action or inaction of Mr Aondoakaa as the Nigeria’s Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF). 

We wonder how the President could be comfortable with the situation where his AGF continued to embarrass his government, by extension, Nigerians, and therefore rubbishing the seven-point agenda and the rebranding project his regime canvasses would redeem Nigeria’s image among the comity of civilized nations of the world. 

It is the frustrations we encountered with the executive arm of the government that forces us to take solace in the ability of the National Assembly to use its power of oversight functions on the executive to convince the president to remove without further delay Mr Aondoakaa from the office as the AGF of Nigeria. The reasons are stated in the aforementioned letters and other communications which we hereby summarize as follows:  

1. Whittling down the prosecutorial powers of the Anti-Corruption Agencies especially the EFCC, ICPC and the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), and constituting a cog in the wheel of progress of these agencies;
2. Refusal to prosecute those involved in international scandals involving Halliburton, Wilbross and Siemens that have been decisively prosecuted in other countries;
3. The unconstitutional removal of the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu from office to prevent the prosecution of his (AGF’s) cronies;
4. Thwarting the case against Mr. James Ibori in a London Court over mere technicalities and publicly celebrating same;
5. Refusal to allow the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) release 25 of their operatives requested for by the Met Police to give evidence in the case of money laundering involving Ibori associates being prosecuted in a London court;
6. Readmission of the deported Vaswani brothers into Nigeria under shady circumstances; and
7. Unilateral reopening of The Honda Place, belonging to the Vaswani brothers without regards to due process and economic implications of such action; amongst others.

We hereby attach herewith copies of our letters to the President on the subject matter for your perusal. We hope you will use the benefit of your good offices to ensure that the President takes immediate action by removing Mr. Michael Aondoakaa as the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation of Nigeria and save Nigeria from further perversion of justice and international opprobrium. 

We shall humbly await your response to this request in two weeks after which we shall react to your action on it or take further steps to ensure that our common heritage, that Nigeria is, is not   ditched into a state of perpetual underdevelopment, frustrating and dysfunctional public institutions and state failure. Please act to stem this slide into oblivion. 

Thanking you in anticipation of your prompt action. 
 

Debo Adeniran

Executive Chairman

08037194969

www.deboadeniran.blogspot.com 

cc:

• The President and Commander-in-Chief of Armed Forces
• The Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation
• The Chairman, National Judicial Commission
• The President, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA)