A former director of the Special Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property, Okoi Obono-Obla has said that several people who served during President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration should rot in jail.
Obono-Obla, who served during former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration was reacting to a recent comment by Obasanjo that some persons occupying positions in government should be in jail.
According to Obono-Obla, it is wrong for the former president to have made such a conclusion based on mere allegations.
He said that as a lawyer who has served for many years, mere allegations do not make one guilty until proven by a competent court of jurisdiction.
His words, “So many people in Obasanjo’s eight-year presidency equally should have been in jail. However, as a lawyer, I can not subscribe to such fallacious arguments no matter how attractive they sound. That is a fundamental principle of law.
“Having said that, I think it is in the realm of speculation or rumour-mongering to suggest so, and so a person ought to be in jail.
“Was the allegation against such a person investigated? Was a prima facie case established against the person?
Was he convicted before a court of competent jurisdiction?”, he asked.
