Tobias Sylvester
Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF), has called for the arrest and detention of the Senate Minority leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, over the disappearance of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
The group made this call while reacting to the detention of Senator Ali Ndume over his failure to produce the former Chairman of the defunct Pension Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina.
Ndume, who represents Borno South at the National Assembly, stood as surety for Maina who is standing trial on alleged money laundering and fraud charges.
However, Maina has repeatedly failed to appear in court for the continuation of his trial which led Justice Okon Abang to order that Senator Ndume be remanded in Kuje prison pending the fulfillment of his bail bond, which is a forfeiture of N500 million to the federal government.
Reacting in a statement issued on Monday by its National President, Yerima Shettima, AYCF wondered why the same court has not ordered the detention of Senator Abaribe who stood as suretie for Nnamdi Kanu, who is also on the run.
“We, as a youth group from the North, find the arrest and remand in prison of Senator Ali Ndume because fugitive Abdurrashid Maina had jumped bail, as unfair. Much as we are not denying whether,” the statement said.
“Abdurrashid Maina committed offence or not, we believe it amounts to setting bad example if Senator Abaribe – who stood surety for terrorist Nnamdi Kanu is still walking the streets as a free man.
“We cannot fathom why Senator Abaribe, who secured bail for IPOB’s Kanu whose action has since been declared treasonable and terror to the country (and still on the run) has never ever been sanctioned for standing surety.
“In the interest of equity, fairness and balance, Senator Abaribe should be immediately arrested and remanded in prison too, until IPOB’s Kanu is turned it or he turns himself in.
“Both Ndume and Abaribe are senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and therefore Abaribe cannot be said to be higher in status than Ndume. Both are lawmakers by the grace of our national constitution and the votes of their constituents.
“Most importantly, we have a duty as a country to demonstrate that in this country, no one citizen is above the other. Significantly, Ndume’s case is such that Maina is still a “suspect” being tried by the law and no sentence has yet been handed down by any court of competent jurisdiction. Still, this cannot be said of Nnamdi Kanu and his treason case.
“We are therefore very disturbed that this is happening to Ndume at a moment democratic power is mainly in the hands of people from Ndume’s immediate constituency. It is this kind of development that gives room for people to accuse the Federal Government of selective application of justice.
“We, therefore, call on President Buhari to intervene and put an end to this embarrassing selectivity against one the North’s exceptionally-vocal, fearless and pro-masses member of the National Assembly.”
KanyiDaily recalls that Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu had come under heavy fire after he said that Abaribe is supposed to replace Kanu in jail, having failed to produce him many times in court in line with the bail bond he signed.
