After
spending 72 hours with his two sons in Kano Central Prison, immediate past
governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, has imputed political motives to his
incarceration.
According
to the former governor, he is being persecuted by those who feel that they
would not be able to actualise their presidential ambition with him around the
political arena.
Lamido, who spoke
exclusively to Sunday Vanguard through his media aide, Umar Kyari,
yesterday, drew the attention of Nigerians and the international community to
the attempt being made by those he called “my political enemies” to silence him
using the instrumentality of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC).
Lamido pointed out
that it was clear from the outset that there was a grand design to put him away
in prison for a long time under the guise of money laundering and sundry
charges so as to pave the way for his political enemies to have their way.
The former governor,
whose many supporters relocated to the Kano Central Prison where they kept vigil
over him and his two sons, said he was determined to prove to Nigerians that he
was innocent but was merely being witch-hunted by those who feel threatened by
his rising political profile.
Lamido’s spokesman
said: “This current effort to frame and denigrate the former governor of Jigawa
State with a view to rubbishing his high performance in office will come to
naught at the end of the day.
“Lamido remains nothing
but a scion of accountability and integrity who has always fought on the side
of the people, particularly the downtrodden and the vulnerable, since he came
into the national political scene.
“He remains unshaken
over the trumped-up charges slammed on him by the EFCC knowing that he has not
committed any offense to warrant being thrown into the prison over a bailable
offense.
“But the refusal by
his traducers to grant him and his sons bail when others charged same day and
time for even more grievous offences were admitted to bail speaks volume of the
intention and mindset of those who are after him.
“Nonetheless, Sule
Lamido strongly believes that, after being imprisoned several times all in a bid
to pave the way for sustained democracy in Nigeria, the current effort by the
EFCC and others to humiliate him and his family over the so-called money
laundering charges will not break his resolve to continue to fight on the side
of the people.
“It is Lamido’s
strong belief that having not committed any offense against the state to
warrant being sent to prison, he and his two sons will be freed and vindicated
against the wicked plot of their adversaries”.
Meanwhile, Lamido is
said to have been overwhelmed by the large number of friends and well wishers
from across Nigeria who have thronged the prison to show solidarity with him
and his two sons.
According to a close
source at the prison, Lamido was jolted by the show of love and solidarity that
he shed what the source described as “tears of joy” on Friday.
The former governor
reportedly came out on Friday afternoon in one of his best attires to the
office of the prison controller with a view to getting close to all those who
had thronged the prison yard to see him.
It was learnt last night
that Lamido and sons were likely to be admitted to bail tomorrow (Monday) as a
vacation judge was most likely to hear their bail application on that day.
A source said
Lamido’s associates had already prepared in many ways to meet whatever
conditions the judge might stipulate for their release from prison pending the
hearing of the case in September.
Lamido and his two
sons, according to the charge sheet of the EFCC after what the anti-graft
agency described as a thorough investigation, alleged during the arraignment of
the accused persons at a Federal High Court sitting in Kano, that they
laundered N1.35 billion.
They were slammed
with a 28-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust.
The trial judge,
Justice Evelyn Anyadike, adjourned the case till September 28 while ordering
that the suspects be remanded in Kano Prison.
