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Author: LAOLU AKANDE
Posted to the web: 2/8/2006 4:27:42 AM

ETHICAL posers are being raised in the United States (U.S.) over the support being given by the Federal Government to former military ruler, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, in a human rights violation suit filed in the U.S. by elder statesman, Chief Anthony Enahoro, and some other Nigerians.
While a group of Nigerians resident in the U.S. believes that the support, put at about $1 million, casts a slur on the government's anti-corruption credentials, Abubakar's lawyer, Mr. Emeka Ugwunye, says the administration action is okay.
According to the lawyer, since the suit was filed against Abubakar in his capacity as a member of the then Provisional Ruling Council (PRC), the matter could not be regarded as a private affair.
Enahoro and the late Abiola’s daughter, Hafsat, among others, filed the suit, on the circumstances that led to the death in detention of business mogul, Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, among others.
 
But a group of Nigerians in the U.S. has petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on the allegation that President Olusegun Obasanjo is using his official power to meddle in the case and supporting Abubakar by paying the former ruler's legal fees.
The former ruler has now referred the case on appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court; challenging a decision that he did not enjoy sovereign immunity for the period he was a floor member of the PRC. The Nigerian Pro-Democracy Network (NPDN) based in Detroit, Michigan, wants the EFCC to investigate what it calls 'financial impropriety against the President.' Citing some published articles on the Internet, the NPDN said: 'President Obasanjo was alleged to be financing Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar's legal fees to the tune of millions of naira, in the human rights violations case against the former Head of State, (Enahoro et al. V. Abdulsalami Abubakar, Docket Number 02 C 6093) currently pending before the Honorable Judge Matthew F. Kennelly of United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Chicago.' Although the case is pending at the U.S. District Court in Chicago, it has gone to the U.S. Appeal Court and has been referred to the U.S. Supreme Court on matters of procedure. The NPDN said: 'We are concerned with two recent online articles written by a U.S.- based attorney, Mr. Akinwole Ogunlola esq., ... titled: 'Open Letter to President Olusegun Obasanjo' and 'Who is Obasanjo working for?' Ogunlola is an attorney in the law offices of Kayode Oladele, the leading counsel for the Enahoro group. He had described as 'very unfortunate' that the Obasanjo administration, 'which prides itself as champion of anti-corruption, is in itself involved in a scandalous financial involvement in Abubakar's case.' He noted that during an oral argument, Abubakar's lawyer, Ugwuonye, informed the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Seventh Circuit that the former military ruler's legal fees were being paid by the Nigerian government. Ogunlola said: 'Credible sources reveal that Nigeria has spent well over $1 million (N130 million) defending this case against a private individual.' Oladele, in an interview with The Guardian, said that Ugwuonye made the disclosure at the appellate court last year that his legal fees were being paid by the Nigerian government. But Oladele said the NPDN petition to EFCC was an independent decision of the group. In his response, Ugwuonye said: 'It is absolutely true' that the matter came up at the U.S. Court of Appeal.' He, however, added that it was not a new development. Ugwuonye said that he told the Appeal Court that the Nigerian government was supporting the former head of state in two important ways in the case. One, he said, was by committing to refund the former ruler's legal fees. The other, he added, is by sending key government officials like the Attorney-General and Foreign Affairs Minister to the U.S. in relation to the case. To Ugwuonye, there is nothing untoward about the government's support for the case since Abubakar is being sued in his capacity as a member of the then Provincial Ruling Council (PRC). 'If you look at their complaints, Abubakar has not personally done anything,' the lawyer to the former head of state said. He added that Gen. Abubakar is arguing sovereign immunity in the case, which required the support of the Nigerian state. Ugwuonye explained that the Federal Government also showed the support when it got the U.S. State Department to file an amicus curiae brief in the case. The district court handling the case has already granted Abubakar sovereign immunity for the time he was head of state. But the court rejected the shield for the period he was an ordinary member of the PRC. Dissatisfied, Abubakar appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeal, which upheld the lower court's decision. The former head of state has now referred the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court. Similar to what Ugwuonye said, the NPDN also alleges, quoting articles on the Internet, that 'the Federal Government ... had also sponsored several ministerial delegations to the U.S. State Department to persuade the U.S. to join Gen. Abubakar's defense team. They had also held several clandestine meetings both in the UK (United Kingdom) and the U.S. for the same purpose.'
But to Ugwuonye, there is nothing clandestine about the meetings.
Commenting further, the NPDN stated that it viewed the allegation 'with particular regret and surprise considering the public impression given by the President to rid the country of corruption and economic sabotage.'
The group added that unless investigated and cleared, the allegation 'will adversely affect the integrity of President Obasanjo's administration, particularly on its anti-corruption campaign.'