By Johnbosco Agbakwuru, Abuja

•Dismisses Boko Haram cease fire •CSOs now contractors—Oyovbaire •Not all politicians are corrupt—Anenih

ONE of the most vocal human rights activists in the country, Mallam Shehu Sani has accused the nation’s judiciary of aiding and abetting corruption, saying that the judges are completely cut off from the masses and resisting war against corruption.

Sani who stated this in an interview with Saturday Vanguard, while reacting to the recent Federal Capital Territory High Court judgment that sentenced the former Director in the Police Pension Office, Mr. John Yakubu Yusuf for two years or pay a fine of N750, 000.00 for stealing N32 billion said that such judgment encourages thieves in government to continue to loot the nation’s treasury.

He said, “Even though it is said that law is an act, what is evidently clear in Nigeria today is that judiciary has been aiding and abetting corruption. The corrupt people and thieves in government and out of government have continuously and consistently exploited the weakness of the judiciary as to continue to perpetuate the act of stealing.

File photo: Pension Scam— Former Director of Pension, Police Affairs Ministry, John Yakubu Yusufu heading to Kuje Prison over N300 million scam

Dismisses Boko Haram cease fire
The Human rights Activist who attended the public presentation of the book, ‘Nigeria Yesterday, Today’, written by Professor Godwin Sogolo, a member of the National Open University of Nigeria Governing Council dismissed the claim by Boko Haram sect that it has ceased fire noting that it was a ploy to deceive the people.

“ Well, what I have always said is that whichever way we use to get out of this violence , we have to use the opportunity. I am in support of dialogue, I am in support of peace, I am in support of anything that will end violence but I do not believe that there is a cease fire.

“The only way I can believe that there is a cease fire is only when the leader of the group sheik Abubakar Shakau comes out openly and say that we have just decided to bring down our arms and we are not going to fight again because he has always been the person that has always owned up to the act of violence.

CSOs are now contractors
Speaking at the book presentation, Chairman of the occasion and former minister of Information, Prof. Sam Oyovbaire said that he was worried that there was lack of debate in the country and that the people had decided to quarrel on matters that should have generated debate for the development of the country.

He said that the book which contains 230 articles created avenue to engage on debate on issues that border on the existence of the country, noting that in few days, the country will be celebrating its 100 years of amalgamation, that it will be an avenue to raise issues and not to quarrel.

“I am worried because we do not have debate. It was argued that after 100 years, we are supposed to re-negotiate,” he stated, adding that another great under current in the articles was that they captured the under development in the country.

“A few people have the gadgets of technology of Europe. Very shameful we assume we are developed. It is a challenge to the three tiers of government. We should take up policies that will lift us a bit from under development.

“Civil societies have become contractors, they are no longer interested in experimentation that can help us tackle national challenges,” he said.

Responding to the allegation by the chairman, Safari Books Limited and publishers of the book, Chief Joop Berkhout said that corruption had retarded development in the country and that people are given positions in the country based on political patronage and not competence.

Chief Tony Anenih said that it was not correct to say that all politicians in the country are corrupt. According to him, “In every society, we have saints, we have angels, we have murderers, we have rapists, and kidnappers and it will be wrong to make general statement to say that everybody in that society is a murderer.

“I don’t say there are no corrupt politicians, but it is not every politician that is corrupt,” Anenih who was the presenter of the book said.