By Oludamisi Ojo
Lagos Lawyer and Human Rights Activist, Mr Femi Falana( SAN), has emphasised that granting State pardon to the convicted former Governors of Plateau State, Joshua Dariye and Taraba, Jolly Nyame for corruption cases demonstrated President Muhammadu Buhari alleged laxity to fight graft.
Besides, Falana faulted the nomination fees imposed on aspirants by the various political parties, describing it as illegal and unconstitutional.
The Senior Advocate spoke at the weekend in his Ilawe Ekiti country home, at a ceremony marking the 10th coronation anniversary of the monarch, Oba Ajibade Alabi.
The Lagos lawyers decried the reasons for their pardon by presidency , saying “there are convicts in our prisons who are much older than Jolly Nyame and Joshua Dariye.
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“The government has been given different reasons for their release but what is important is that the Buhari administration has abandoned the fight against corruption.
“The pardon extended to the two former governors is an infinitesimal parts of the abandonment of the anti corruption war. There are those who have stolen billions of Naira whose cases had been withdrawn from courts by the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami who simply filed nole proseque.
“There are others who are discharged by our courts on technical ground not that they didn’t steal huge sums of money. It was established in court that huge sums were stolen, but the suspects have been ask to go home and enjoy their loots.
“As far as the government is concern, the pardon is just an extension of abandoning and embracing corruption.
They used the anti corruption war to deceived Nigerians, as soon as the government got established, little by little the whole anti corruption crusade collapsed,” he said.
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Falana also described the fees imposed by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the highest in the world.
He said the nomination form fee pegged by APC and PDP showed that members of the political class operate outside of the political terrain.
“The nominations fees fixed by the APC and the PDP are the highest in the world quote me. You can check how much is paid by contestants in USA, UK. As a matter of fact, in Canada today, it has become illegal to collect fees.
“And as far as Nigeria is concern, there is judgment to the effect that any conditionality stipulated outside the constitution is illegal. What the constitution has stipulated is that you must be a card carrying member of a political party, you must have been educated up to school certificate level and also meet certain age criteria.
