Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-Corruption (PACAC), Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN) on Wednesday said it will be difficult for President Muhammadu Buhari to probe former Heads of state involved in the Halliburton scandal becase of the destabilising effect it will have.
Speaking in a chat with Independent, Sagay also admitted that it will be a problem for the Buhari administration to probe the former rulers who are indicted in the scandal.
“I don’t know of any specific reasons but what I would have thought was that our hands are full. The hands of the government are full of scandals in the last six years and the capacity to probe everything is not just there. Maybe after a lot of things may have been concluded, then we may now move into Halliburton. But right now, the hands are really full”.
When asked why it is difficult for President Buhari to probe the former Heads of state given his promise to wage an all-out war on corruption, Sagay said “I have been hearing a lot that some former Heads of state are involved. I know one or two people who are their aides who have been prosecuted but I don’t know if those heads of state have been involved”.
“If they are really involved, it could be a problem. There is no doubt about that. That could be a problem because of the destabilising effect in dealing with those people. Those are some of the things that need to be considered”.
He said probing former heads of state may not be as easy as it seems given primordial sentiments in the country especially when it has to do with corrupt cases.
According to him when certain powerful elements are being probed for corrupt cases, those from their ethnic region always launch series of protests in a show of solidarity with the accused.
He cited the recent cases of former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan and a former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George during his trial on contract splitting when he held sway as the Chairman of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).
“It is the destabilsing effect of having former Heads of state being paraded and taken to the dock. Periodically, Nigeria’s own should not be a problem but because of the primordial sentiments and the type of characteristics of Nigerians, you will know that it is different”.
“We’ve been through all this before when somebody was charged to court and people troop out to defend him. even in cases that are proven, you see people still say ‘It is our money, let him steal it’. Look at Patience Jonathan”.
“Also look at the case of Bode George. Do you remember what happened during his trial whenever he was to appear in court? People wore uniforms and came with drums to show solidarity. Look at Saraki. Whenever he is to go for trial, the whole Senate is going with him. Nigeria culture is a terrible one.
Now if you now go beyond that and you are now going for people who have ruled this country for more than 12 years, you don’t know where the hordes of their people will now come in and start rioting. So, it is something that has to be done after careful thinking. One cannot rush into it” he said.
