Human
rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), on Sunday urged President
Muhammadu Buhari to sack the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur
Buratai, if the army chief fails to voluntarily resign following the
revelation that he purchased properties worth $1.5m in Dubai.
Falana
said in a statement that despite Buratai’s commendable feat of leading
the Nigerian Army to defeat Boko Haram in the North East, the war on
corruption was also a must-win for the Buhari Administration.
The
lawyer described as a “rooster and bull story” the explanation by the
Nigerian Army authorities that Buratai paid for the properties in
installments through his personal savings.
He regretted that the name of the Nigerian Army had been “illegally” used to defend the Buratai in the unfolding scam.
While
he condemned the involvement of the Nigerian Army in defending Buratai,
he said no one had yet to explain to Nigerians how an army General
could manage to save $1.5m.
He added, “In view of the ban on the
opening and operation of foreign accounts by public officers, the Code
of Conduct Bureau should be involved in the investigation.
“If
the Chief of Army Staff does not deem it fit to resign forthwith
President Buhari should not hesitate to remove him in the interest of
national morality.”
Falana commended the Buhari Administration
for how it has handled cases involving military officers allegedly
involved in the diversion of the sum of $15bn meant for procurement of
arms.
The diversion of the fund, he explained allowed the Boko
Haram insurgents to kill about 25,000 Nigerians and displace two million
others, including children.
He also said since the
administration had assured Nigerians that there would be no sacred cow
in the fight against corruption, Buratai should step down and allow a
full scale scale investigation by the Arms Procurement Panel and the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
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