Arrest of Atiku’s lawyer, Giwa Osagie, politically motivated - Timi Frank
- A former APC chieftain, Comrade Timi Frank, has condemned the arrest of Barr. Uyiekpen Giwa-Osagie by the EFCC
- Giwa-Osagie, one of the lawyers of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, was arrested recently by the EFCC
- Comrade Frank stated the arrest of the PDP's presidential candidate's lawyer, is politically motivated
Former deputy national publicity secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, has condemned the arrest of Barr. Uyiekpen Giwa-Osagie by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Giwa-Osagie, one of the lawyers of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, was arrested recently by the anti-graft agency.
Comrade Frank stated the arrest of the PDP's presidential candidate's lawyer, is politically motivated, accusing the EFCC chairman, Ibrahim Magu, of with-hunting the opposition.
In a statement sent to Legit.ng on Tuesday, February 19, Comrade Frank opined that the EFCC has left nobody in doubt that it is doing the political bidding of the APC and President Muhammadu Buhari.
READ ALSO: Atiku accuses Buhari of disregarding Nigerian laws
He said the arrest of Giwa-Osagie a few weeks after Tunde Ayeni - a former Chairman of Skye Bank Plc (now Polaris Bank), was picked up and detained in similar fashion, shows that the APC is desperate to starve the opposition of critical funding.
Ayeni is also a known associate of the PDP presidential candidate.
“Magu cannot claim to be fighting corruption when the only people he finds to be allegedly engaged in fraudulent activities are key members of the opposition. This is a witch-hunt and highly selective,” Comrade Frank said.
He noted that there is no where in the Electoral Act where opposition political parties are banned from funding their elections to prescribed limits, decrying the continuous clampdown on businessmen associated with the Atiku campaign.
He said: “Today, the EFCC is clearly an arm of the APC. No thanks to Magu who has officially pledged his support to General Buhari by wearing his re-election campaign brooch on his suit lapel.
“Magu is politically biased and the entire EFCC under his command is working for the re-election of Buhari and all APC’s candidates in the coming elections. If not, how can Magu claim to be fighting corruption by incessantly arresting opposition figures to the exclusion of members of the Buhari administration with corrupt baggage around their necks?”
He further stated that the statement by Adams Oshiomhole that any looter who crosses over to the APC would have his sins forgiven shows that the APC is today populated by fraudsters that are untouchable by the anti-graft bodies.
He called on Nigerians and the international community not to be deceived by the false toga of integrity being used to cloak Buhari, stressing that his government is the most corrupt in the history of Nigeria.
“It is clear that Magu and the EFCC are not fighting corruption but only helping the APC to fight their political opponents,” he declared.
He, therefore, called for the immediate release of all political prisoners being detained by the EFCC like Giwa-Osagie, Ayeni and others before Saturday’s poll.
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Comrade Frank recently called on President Buhari to demonstrate his widely trumpeted integrity by being faithful to his promise to ensure free, fair and credible elections.
In a statement sent to Legit.ng on Friday, February 15, the Bayelsa-born politician said Nigerians cannot rely on the president's promise until after the elections.
According to him, Nigerians now find it extremely difficult to believe the president, “in view of his past broken pledges.”
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Source: Legit.ng