Former senate president, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has advised the security agencies in the country to be wary and avoid being manipulated by politicians as the 2023 presidential election gets nearer.
Saraki stated this in a statement from his media office signed by Yusuph Olaniyonu, in Abuja on Wednesday while reacting to the recent court case in which the Department of State Services (DSS) accused the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, of terrorism and other sundry charges while seeking a court order for his arrest.
He stated that what led to such an action by the secret service at this point needed further clarification so as not to create misunderstanding and wrong perception about the motive.
He added that without holding brief for the CBN governor, who he believes should be able to defend himself as he is not above the law, his concern was that as a victim of a similar wrong and politically-motivated accusation, he felt that there were some clouds around the DSS court action coming two months to the general election, particularly at a time the apex bank introduced tough guidelines on the cashless regime and redesign of currency notes, which could work against those who had planned to resort to vote-buying in the election.
“As somebody who had been wrongly accused of involvement in the Offa robbery by political opportunists and manipulators before their evil plots now begin to unravel in the court of law, I feel that a similar intrigue is being weaved by those who are bent on sabotaging the 2023 elections as the obvious outcome is not going their way.
“In this court case in which the CBN governor is being accused of terrorism through a suit which the Federal High Court has now described as frivolous and without concrete evidence, my position is not to support Emefiele but to support democracy which is being targeted by the plotters.
“With all the due respect that I have for the DSS as a very professional security agency, I still found it very difficult to understand what led to the charges, why concrete evidence that will enable the court to take a good decision was not provided and why the Department gave room for suspicion and speculations as the case file have gaping holes as noted by the Honourable Judge John Tsoho.
“One of the suspicions this case has raised is that it is part of a grand plot by those who want to undermine and sabotage the coming general election because their calculation on vote buying, rigging, and excessive use of money is falling apart. The new CBN regulation on a cashless regime in which individuals can only withdraw N100,000 a week and N20,000 per day is sure to frustrate the partisan fraudsters, the mischievous politicians and unpatriotic elements who aim to win the election at all costs even when they are being rejected at the polls,” he stated.
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