Masari versus Shema: Prosecution or Persecution?

By Shuaib Abdullahi
Recently, the immediate-past governor of Katsina State, Ibrahim Shema,
called a press conference whereby for the umpteenth time he alleged being
persecuted by his successor Aminu Bello Masari.
In a statement signed by the head of his media team, Oluwabusola Olawale,
Shema questioned the rationale behind his multiple prosecutions in various
courts and by various anti-graft agencies for the same alleged corrupt
practices; a list of which suspiciously keeps growing three years after he
has left office as governor.
The statement also suggested that Governor Masari’s pursuit of hanging
Shema at all cost has almost taken the form of a personal obsession rather
than the demand for justice. “Since Governor Aminu Bello Masari started
his persecution, intimidation and harassment of former governor Ibrahim
Shehu Shema by setting up over 30 different committees to probe his
administration, he (Masari) has granted over 200 media interviews, wherein
he called Shema names and continues to sponsor his media trial,” the
statement partly read.
“Governor Masari has also set up commissions of inquiry and sponsored
petitions to the EFCC and ICPC, using the Katsina State Attorney-General’s
fiat to take Shema before Justice Maikaita Bako of Katsina State High
Court while at the same time obtaining a fiat from the Attorney-General of
the Federation curiously to take over a corruption case from the ICPC
before the same Justice Maikaita Bako to satisfy his interest,” the
statement further alleged.
It is important to mention that Shema’s allegations are coming on the heel
of his impending arraignment by the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) on April 24 over alleged laundering of N5,776,552,396
meant for the Subsidy Re-Investment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P).
The commission said through the media officer of its Kano zonal office,
idris Nadabo, that the former governor would be arraigned before Justice
Babagana Ashgar of the Federal High Court in Katsina on a 26-count charge
of conspiracy and money laundering alongside one Idris Kwado who is said
to be currently at large.
Shema has always maintained his innocence and has on countless occasions
demanded transparent and fair trial in pursuit of justice and the rule of
law. Does this mean he is being unjustly prosecuted? Masari’s response has
been that it is uncharitable for the former governor to accuse him of
trying to destroy his reputation when all he (Masari) had done was “to
provide the opportunity for the former governor to defend his reputation.”
He once advised Shema to “be man enough to bear his cross without casting
himself as an injured party innocent of the offences he committed.”
Many have picked a hole in Shema’s prosecution due to the inconsistencies
in the figures he is alleged to have mismanaged, as well as why he is
being tried on multiple prosecutorial platforms. Governor Masari himself
has claimed at different times that the EFCC was investigating a fraud to
the tune of N106 billion. Then we heard N74.6 billion, and then N68
billion. There are also some who questioned why the governor is seemingly
obsessed with posting regular media updates on the prosecution which, they
claim, are capable of pre-empting and undermining the investigation
process.
It is this glamorisation of the prosecution of Shema that raises
curiousness as to the intension of the Katsina State governor. It is the
glamorisation of the prosecution that made Shema’s media team say in the
press statement earlier quoted: “And with the fresh suit before a Federal
High Court Katsina, we urge Nigerians and the international community to
monitor closely the planned arraignment of Shema on the slated date to
understand the motive and agenda of the fresh suit.”
As the unending drama continues to unfold, it is obvious that the end has
not been heard of what has been termed “Masari versus Shema” in the
struggle for the political soul of Katsina. This is because there is a
conspiracy theory that the recent rally staged by the opposition Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) in Governor Masari’s backyard has added impetus to
his resolve to bring Shema down by any means. It was roundly reported that
Shema played a significant role in pulling off the rally, adjudged to be
hugely successful to the disbelief of the ruling All Progressives Party
(APC). Adherents of this theory believe that Masari did not expect Shema
to still wield huge political influence in the state, having clipped his
wings with multiple corruption prosecutions.
Onlookers have also questioned why only predecessors from opposition
parties are subjected to such probes after their terms in office. The
general suspicion in Katsina is that the fight against corruption is a
mere political dissembling as demonstrated even at the federal level.
If Ibrahim Shema feels that he was already guilty in the court of Masari
even before any formal trial, it is left for the governor to allow the law
run its own course and demonstrate neutrality by desisting from being the
plaintiff, prosecutor and judge in a case involving a proven political
adversary.
Shuaib writes in from Malumfashi