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Bayelsa N’Assembly caucus, Ijaw youths deplore Alamieyeseigha’s extradition notice

By Sam Ogundana, Yenagoa
09 October 2015   |   12:29 am
CHAIRMAN of the Bayelsa State caucus in the National Assembly, Senator Foster Ogola, has condemned fresh moves to have former Governor Diepreye Alamieyesiegha extradited to Britain.
 While speaking at a function where the state governor, Seriake Dickson, was endorsed for a second term by several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and a coalition of civil society groups…
Diepreye Alamieyeseigha

Alamieyeseigha

CHAIRMAN of the Bayelsa State caucus in the National Assembly, Senator Foster Ogola, has condemned fresh moves to have former Governor Diepreye Alamieyesiegha extradited to Britain.


While speaking at a function where the state governor, Seriake Dickson, was endorsed for a second term by several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and a coalition of civil society groups in Yenagoa, the state capital on Wednesday, Ogola raised posers on the rationale for the extradition notice by Britain. 


According to him, the latest bid was suspicious, noting that Alamieyesiegha had gone through a legal process, prosecuted by a competent court of jurisdiction, indicted, sentenced and granted presidential pardon.


He queried: “What is the basis of this new extradition having gone through all legal process culminating in a presidential pardon?”

 
Ogola, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues in the National Assembly therefore, called for restraint in the interest of justice.

Backing Ogola’s position, the state chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Serena Dokubo-Spiff, noted that the new attempt smacked of “high level conspiracy.” He accused the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state as brains behind the plot, which he regarded as a conscious step to destroy the Ijaw nation.

Dokubo-Spiff said: “The extradition notice smacks of high level conspiracy contrived by some powerful elements in the APC government, who are out to destroy the Ijaw nation. They plotted against our son, Mr. President and denied him the opportunity of returning to power and now, they are after another noble son of ours in the person of DSP Alamieyeseigha. This injustice will not stand. How many times will a man be convicted for the same offence? he asked.
 
The party chairman castigated the APC leadership in the state, saying its antics suggested that it was against the Ijaw nation and was the reason why the PDP has been telling the people to reject it at the polls. 


“This election is not about Dickson but the collective interest of the Ijaw nation. From all indications, the APC is against the Ijaw nation and that is why our people must reject it”, he said. 


Also, the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) has slammed the Government of the United Kingdom as well as President Muhammadu Buhari and former President Olusegun Obasanjo for the extradition request.

In a statement, the group through its spokesman, Eric Omare, said that the notice was politically-motivated and influenced by the present administration.
It also accused Obasanjo of having a hand in the fresh ordeal.
 
IYC warned that the Ijaw nation would not sit idly and watch its leaders disgraced by those it referred to as “cabals in the Buhari administration,” accusing the central government of being selective in the fight against corruption.

IYC said that the gang -up against Alamieyeseigha was based on his ‘consistent opposition’ to the ruling APC.
 
“The request is politically-motivated and instigated by the Buhari-led Federal Government. The government of the United Kingdom is just being used as a subterfuge. The real brains behind the extradition request are some key players in the Nigerian government, especially, former President Obasanjo, who wants to punish Chief Alamieyesegha for his recent statements on his ordeal in the past and also because of Chief Alamieyesegha’s consistent opposition to the ruling party,” it alleged.
 
The group also condemned the chairman of Buhari’s Advisory Committee on Anti-Corruption, Itse Sagay (SAN), for justifying the extradition request.

“It amounts to professional misconduct for Prof. Sagay who was one of Chief Alamieyeseigha’s lawyers during his arrest and subsequent trial in Nigeria, to now be acting as an adviser to the Federal Government on same matter.

“Nigerians would recall that Prof. Sagay fell out with his old time friend and benefactor, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, because of the arrest of Chief Alamieyesegha in London. Also, when Chief James Ibori was sentenced in London, he condemned the sentence for being excessive. Now the same Prof. Sagay is singing a new song.

“We make bold to state that Prof. Sagay’s conduct is not only unprofessional but he also lacks consistency and no useful advice can come from a committee headed by such an inconsistent character,” IYC stated.

In a related development, a governorship candidate (names withheld) has been fingered as the brain behind the extradition notice. 
 A reliable source who made the claim said the candidate’s close working relationship with the Federal Government facilitated the extradition moves. 

 
The source, who pleaded anonymity, said the candidate instigated the decision to include Alamieyesiegha’s name among those whose names were listed in the letter which the President allegedly took along with him in his recent trip to the United Kingdom. 
 According to him, Buhari handed the list to UK authorities as persons to be investigated and invited for questioning and prosecution. 

   
He said former Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke’s name was top on the list and other cabinet members of the Jonathan administration. 
 The source also alleged that “to prove to you the strong link between the candidate and the FG, during the botched APC primaries, the police were directed to deploy the AIG that supervised the controversial election. Even with the reported violence which marred the primaries and indeed the threat to the life of Edo State governor, the AIG went on national TV to say the event was peaceful. So, you can understand what is at play,” he said. 


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