Posted by From AKEEB ALARAPE, Ibadan on
A pressure group, Association For Peace and Justice (APJ) has raised an alarm over an alleged plot by former chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, alongside some human rights activists to sponsor damaging and unfounded reports against the Federal Government and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) with intent to attract sympathy of international communities over his travails.
A pressure group, Association For Peace and Justice (APJ) has raised an alarm over an alleged plot by former chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, alongside some human rights activists to sponsor damaging and unfounded reports against the Federal Government and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) with intent to attract sympathy of international communities over his travails.
The group in a press statement signed by its National
Coordinator, Dr Folu Onabanjo and Secretary, Alhaji Farouk Usman, said it had been monitoring activities of the former EFCC boss since November 22, 2008, when he was prevented from graduating at the Nigerian Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) Kuru, Jos.
APJ alleged that information at its disposal indicated that Ribadu had been holding meetings with a group of human rights activists led by a Lagos based lawyer.
According to the association, an initial plan arrived at in one of the meetings was to cause unrest by sponsoring some hoodlums in the name of civil society groups to demonstrate against the Federal Government and the Nigeria Police Force in sympathy for Ribadu.
'Our association got hint of that plan and we raised an alarm on November 24, 2008 to expose that treachery. Based on the leakage of that plot, they have come out with another strategy of pumping large sum of money into some local and foreign print media with a view to feeding them with falsified documents obviously to tarnish the government of President Musa Yar'Adua and the NPF.
'Information at our disposal reveals that N35 million has already been made available to a caucus of the activists to facilitate their agenda. According to APJ the mode of sharing of the money in a chamber sparked off controversy with some of the engaged activists, feeling shortchanged and threatening to back out.
'Our association stands for justice and peace. We, therefore, urge Ribadu to seek redress if any, through the judiciary and he will get the full support of well meaning Nigerians and that of our association, which is one of our cardinal objectives,' the statement urged the ex-EFCC boss.
Ribadu was also advised against any act capable of denting the image of the country and the police.