In a letter released by Laolu Akande, the Senior Special Assistant to
the President on Media & Publicity, Osinbajo gave two reasons why he
didn’t attend the event which was held in Abuja on Monday.
According to the Vice President, he was absent first because he was a
keynote speaker at an international meeting in Abu Dhabi, where he was
invited by the government of the United Arab Emirates.
“First is that I am currently in Abu Dhabi for an international meeting
under the auspices of the government of the UAE where I am the keynote
speaker,” he said.
He further stated that the second reason for his absence is owing to the
drama which played out on Friday when operatives of the DSS attempted to
arrest Mr. Omoyele Sowore in a High Court in Abuja.
“Second, in view of the developments on Friday in the Sowore case, I
think it would be insensitive and inappropriate to attend the ceremony.”
The Vice President appealed to members of the organizing team to accept
his heartfelt apologies for not making it to the event.
Professor Osinbajo said he was extremely grateful for the recognition
and award of the ‘Integrity Specialty of the Wole Soyinka Centre for
Investigative Journalism’s Anti-corruption Defender Award of 2019’ to
him.
The Vice President noted that he had accepted the award with pride on
behalf of the excellent Justice Sector team.