How ex-Governor Bafarawa disbursed N100m given him by Dasuki to PDP chiefs - Shettima warns anti-graft agencies

macfranc007 October 25, 2017 Nigeria News today & Breaking news ▷ Read Nigerian newspapers 24/7 Eromosele Ebhomele

The Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF) has issued a warning to Nigeria’s anti-graft agencies in their probe of former Governor Attahiru Bafarawa of Sokoto state.

The AYCF, through its national president, Yerima Shettima, said trying to single out Bafarawa from the list of those who received various amounts from the office of the Nattional Security Adviser then headed by Sambo Dasuki, could be injurious to the country’s democracy.

According Shettima, who listed how Bafarawa disbursed the amount he received from Dasuki during the campaign to return to return former President Goodluck Jonathan to power, said he was opposed to selective trial.

“We have been following with keen interest, all the developments related to the N600 million given to six influential Nigerian politicians, including Dr Attahiru Bafarawa, by the office of former NSA Sambo Dasuki, through Alhaji Bashir Yuguda.

“So far, we have noticed that there are not a few lapses in the handling of this matter. There seems to be a concerted effort to turn the tables against Dr Bafarawa, who is actually the only person who has added money from his personal income to ensure that it was judiciously distributed.

“We wonder why Bafarawa is willy-nilly being turned into the whipping boy of the agencies investigating this matter when, in actual fact, Bafarawa's case is clearly a non-issue in comparison to that of the other five prominent Nigerian politicians.

“It is our conviction that whoever is suspected of wrong doing should be subjected to the proper process of investigation.

“Much as we would not reject investigating Bafarawa over any form of suspicion, we insist that the law must be allowed to take its natural course without any partisan interference.

“It is unacceptable to pick out a single individual out of six persons that were suspected of wrongdoing, for sanctions. This betrays the logic of balance and standard practice of investigation.

“It is on record that the other five Nigerians involved included Chief Bode George ( Southwest), Alhaji Yerima Abdullahi (Northeast), Chief Peter Odili (South-South); Chief Jim Nwobodo (Southeast) and Dr Ahmad Ali ( North-Central).

“Each of these people, just like Bafarawa, got N100 million as PDP's logistics support for the 2015 campaigns in all of the aforementioned geo-political zones.

“To single out Bafarawa for trial therefore amounts to selective justice which is harmful to democracy and the rule of law,” Shettima said.

According to the Arewa youth leader, below is how Bafarawa disbursed the money sent to him:

1. Kebbi state: Abdullahi Yelwa's Access Bank account number 0050222872 was credited with the sum of N15,600,000 on 12/01/15

2. Jigawa state's Bashir M Dalhatu's Zenith Bank account number 1003873037 was credited with N15,600,000 on 12/01/15

3. Zamfara state's Bala Mohd Mande's Keystone Bank account number 1001340999 got N15,700,000 on 12/01/15

4. Kaduna state's Senator Musa Bello had his Diamond Bank account number 0025256324 credited with N16,200,000 on 12/01/15

5. In Kano state, Habibu Shuaibu's Zenith Bank account number 1002417106 on 12/01/15 was credited with N15,100,000.

6. Katsina state: Amb Adamu Saidu Daura got his Keystone Bank account number 1002074068 credited with N15,700,000 on 17/3/15.

7. In Sokoto state, Eng Muhammad Tori got cash payment of N3,300,000 on 23/1/15

8. Ahmed Mohd Gusau, a resident of Sokoto, got cash payment of N3,000,000 on 23/01/15.

The net total of the above disbursements stands at N100,200,000.

Shettima thus argued that from the record, it meant that Bafarawa even added his personal money.

“Most importantly, it is on record that the last time Bafarawa appeared in court over this matter, the issue was that his matter should be separated from the Dasuki case in order to accelerate his trial.

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“Moreover, Dasuki has a long-standing issue with President Buhari, while Bafarawa has none. It follows logically therefore that Bafarawa's case is far off the mark in terms of Dasuki's bitter differences with Buhari.

“Indeed, it would be erroneous to place Dasuki's case side-by-side that of Bafarawa because Bafarawa never had anything against Buhari at any point in their interactions over the years,” Shettima added.

NAIJ.com earlier reported that an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) witness, Michael Adariku, on Thursday, October 20, told an Abuja High Court how N1.4 billion security vote from the office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) was diverted.

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