Foremost human rights activist and Permanent Representative of the Centre for Convention on Democratic Integrity (CCDI), Mr Olufemi Aduwo, has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s political rivals to desist from recycling allegations against the President, noting that Tinubu has never been indicted, prosecuted, or convicted by any court in the United States on drug-related or criminal charges.
On Monday in Lagos, Aduwo stated that political capital should not be manufactured from recycled allegations that have been litigated, formally and informally.
He added that the fact that the President’s name may have appeared in affidavits or that he had acquaintances who were subject to investigation does not, legally or logically, impute guilt. Thus, he rubbished Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia’s recent directive instructing certain United States agencies to release investigative records allegedly linked to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The statement reads in parts: “Viewed through a measured and dispassionate lens, nothing is unprecedented in this development. The principal issue, namely, the civil forfeiture of $460,000 in 1993, has been firmly embedded in the public domain for decades.
“It underwent intense scrutiny during the 2023 presidential election and was adjudicated in legal circles and the broader court of public opinion. Its inability to hinder President Tinubu’s electoral ascension is, in itself, telling.
“Indeed, it must be restated with absolute clarity: President Tinubu has never been indicted, prosecuted, or convicted by any court in the United States on drug-related or any criminal charges.
“The fact that his name may have appeared in affidavits or that he had acquaintances who were subject to investigation does not, legally or logically, impute guilt.
“Legal jurisprudence draws a clear line between association and liability. Guilt is neither presumed by proximity nor media speculation. It is established by probative evidence, formal charges and a conviction secured through due process before a court of competent jurisdiction.
“Let us be reminded that even an ordinary visitor to the United States who fails to declare a cash amount above regulatory thresholds risks civil forfeiture; this is a standard administrative procedure, not an indication of criminal wrongdoing.
“The opposition, in their bid for political traction ahead of 2027, must desist from constructing a cathedral upon a foundation so evidently tenuous.
“Political capital should not be manufactured from recycled allegations that have been litigated, formally and informally. Governance credibility is earned through sound policy alternatives, not the incessant regurgitation of speculative claims. Should any documents be released by United States agencies, their probative value may be no greater than that of discarded newspaper or, more bluntly, toilet tissue.
“Let it not be forgotten that former President Obasanjo and Mallam Nasir El-Rufai levelled serious accusations against Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in their respective publications, yet these did little to stifle his aspirations or following.
“We must, therefore, rise above this cyclical fixation with bygone controversies. Let our politics shift from recrimination to reconstruction, innuendo to institution-building, and character assassination to credible engagement”.
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