A human rights lawyer, Mr. Deji Ajare, has urged the Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Hon. Umar Yusuf, to start an impeachment process against Governor Usman Ododo, over allegations of misconduct and abuse of office.
Ajare called on the Assembly to cooperate with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in ensuring that all individuals involved are available for questioning and investigations.
The lawyer made the call on Friday via the House Clerk in a letter addressed to the Speaker.
“In the light of the above allegations and the inherent potential breaches of statutory duties imposed by the Constitution and other relevant laws of our country, these actions, if proven true, amount to gross misconduct and warrant immediate investigation and commencement of impeachment proceedings.
“I hereby call on the Kogi State House of Assembly under your leadership to initiate a thorough inquiry into these allegations by Section 188 of the Nigerian Constitution, to ascertain the truth and to hold Governor Usman Ododo accountable if the allegations are found to be true.
He said that using the governor’s motorcade to transport the troubled former Governor Yahaya Bello to safety amounts to harbouring a wanted person, obstructing the course of justice, and misusing public funds.
Ododo, on Wednesday, whisked Bello away after operatives of EFCC besieged the latter’s Abuja residence to arrest him in connection with an N80.2billion money laundering case.
Some hours after, the EFCC declared the former governor wanted, and the Nigeria Immigration Service placed him on its watch list.
The IGP also ordered withdrawal of all policemen attached to him.
In his letter, Ajare also called on the Assembly to cooperate with the EFCC and ensure that all individuals involved are available for questioning and investigations.
“In the light of the above allegations and the inherent potential breaches of statutory duties imposed by the Constitution and other relevant laws of our country, these actions, if proven true, amount to gross misconduct and warrant immediate investigation and commencement of impeachment proceedings.
“I, hereby, call on the Kogi State House of Assembly under your leadership to initiate a thorough inquiry into these allegations by Section 188 of the Nigerian Constitution, to ascertain the truth and to hold Governor Usman Ododo accountable if the allegations are found to be true.
“I also urge the Kogi State House of Assembly to cooperate with national law enforcement agencies, including the EFCC, to ensure all individuals involved are available for questioning and to facilitate a smooth investigation,” he said.
He further implored the House of Assembly to take swift and decisive actions, noting the effect of the “misgovernance implied in these allegations” on the people of the state.
“I thank you as I look forward to your urgent attention to this issue. I trust in your commitment to uphold the Constitution and the laws of our land for the betterment of our state and its people”, the letter also read.
However, Mohammed Yabagi, the Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of the House of Assembly, said neither the Clerk nor the Speaker had received any letter to that effect letter.
Yabagi added that the House has not seen any valid reasons to begin impeachment process against the governor, adding that there is no evidence that the governor prevented security agencies from arresting Yahaya Bello.
“Anybody in the public has their perception of the matter. But the House has not seen any reason, none of the members of the House were there, and none of them saw the governor trying to prevent the security agencies from doing their job. As far as the Assembly is concerned, the Assembly supports all constitutionally recognised security agencies. We have not seen any reason why the House should commence any impeachment processes.
“For context, as far as the Executive is concerned, the immediate past governor was not even at his Abuja residence, and there’s no concrete evidence that the Executive Governor prevented them from doing their constitutionally recognised job.
“The House is yet to receive such a letter, and the Speaker is yet to have any knowledge of such a letter,” he said.
Meanwhile, the governor’s media adviser, Ismaila Isah, could not be reached on telephone.
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