Anti-corruption Group Decries Baseless Accusations Against Ashiru

The Independent Crusade Against Corruption & Injustice (ICACI) has described as “baseless” and “afterthought witch-hunt” for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to have come out against the Deputy Leader of the Senate, Senator Yisa Ashiru, with spurious allegations.

The NDLEA, through its spokesman, Femi Babafemi, had alleged that the senator’s personal house situated in GRA, Ilorin, Kwara State, had been used to warehouse illicit drugs.

The NDLEA alleged that the senator’s residence was raided after intelligence revealed it was being used as a drug joint, claiming two of the senator’s aides were arrested during the raid, while one managed to escape.

The NDLEA’s allegations came barely 24 hours after the Senate Deputy Leader made contributions on the Bill for an Act to Establish National Institute for Drug Awareness and Rehabilitation, which would take away the job of rehabilitation and post-convict orientation of drug addicts from the NDLEA.

In his contributions, Senator Ashiru apparently speaking based on informed position, described the NDLEA as “the most corrupt and compromised agency” hence, his support for the establishment of the new institute.

In a statement in Abuja Sunday evening by the president of the anti-corruption group, ICACI, Dr. Guy Fredrick Abu, the Chairman of NDLEA, Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd.), was given seven days ultimatum to publicly apologize to Ashiru and the institution of the National Assembly of Nigeria to save the country of any international embarrassment.

The group said it had conducted a preliminary investigation and “can boldly submit that the NDLEA is pursuing personal vendetta with the Distinguished Senator, for standing up to support a Bill which the NDLEA has been doing so much underground to kill”.

“If it is not personal vendetta and afterthought witch-hunt, how on earth would an agency of the government that wants to be taken seriously, claim it arrested and prosecuted people close to the senator to the extent of saying the lawmaker sent his personal assistant to intervene on behalf of the accused, but would keep it underground for over 3 years, only to come out after it was known that the man supported a Bill which the NDLEA felt as rival?

“Even though the agency didn’t mention the name of the courts where the accused were tried, but even if the senator was mentioned in connection with the crime, what has the NDLEA been waiting for all these years until he contested and won election and still emerged as principal officer of the 10th Senate?

“If the NDLEA wants Nigerians to believe them, it means they have been covering this allegation until such a time that they felt the senator started supporting establishment of another agency. How many more high profile personalities the NDLEA may have also covered in this regard? Assuming we want to believe their cock and bull story. It then confirms the submission of the senator that the agency is corrupt.

“But our preliminary investigation has revealed Senator Ashiru to be an upright man in the society, both at home and in Abuja. Ashiru is a 68 years old man who has never tasted red wine or any form of alcohol since he was a child. We had had cause to discuss with 2 classmates of his – one from his primary school days and another, his university mate; in the course of our investigations.

“We can categorically tell Nigerians that the NDLEA only wants to embarrass Nigeria and National Assembly before the international community, because already, nothing is left in their pride, as far as professionalism is concerned. 

“We are giving the Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA just 7 days, to come out openly and apologize to Senator Ashiru, the institution of National Assembly and Nigerians in general. Failure to do this, our members shall mobilize other Nigerians to occupy the NDLEA headquarters, until the needful is done,” the statement added.