Amnesty a ruse, unconstitutional - Dokubo-Asari

Uchechukwu Olisah, Benin City - 03.07.2009

ALHAJI Mujahid Asari-Dokubo has said the amnesty, which President Umaru Yar’Adua granted to supposed militants in the Niger Delta, is unconstitutional and a ruse.

President Yar’Adua recently announced an amnesty and a N50 billion package to militants in the Niger Delta in a renewed effort to solve the Niger Delta crisis, which is now taking its toll on Nigeria’s crude oil-based economy.

According to Dokubo-Asari, who spoke with newsmen, on Thursday, in Benin City, the Edo State capital, “the amnesty is not constitutional. Yar’Adua has no legal authority to grant amnesty or pardon to anybody, who has not been convicted in a court of law.

“There is no constitutional provision; there is no law in the statute of Nigeria that talks about such a thing as amnesty for somebody, who has not been convicted.”

Dokubo-Asari said the law presumed a man to be innocent until he was convicted in court of competent jurisdiction. “So, who are you giving the amnesty? Has he been convicted or you are giving amnesty to someone who killed people and kidnapped people?. You are encouraging criminality,” he said.

When asked if he thought Government Ekpemukpolo, alias Tompolo, should accept the amnesty, Dokubo-Asari said Ekpemukpolo was not a militant but a freedom fighter and a good man.

“I know Tompolo. I don’t think Tompolo is a militant. If he says he is a militant, I will doubt it. I know him. I can speak for him. I cannot speak for the others,” he added.

He recalled the statements of the sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Sir Ahmadu Bello, to the effect that Nigeria was not a country, but a mere geographical expression, saying that “as far as we are concerned, it does not exist.”