A non-governmental organization based in Osogbo, Osun State, the Justice Now Foundation, JNF, has called for the arrest and investigation of the operatives of a two-man civil society organisation code-named Civil Societies Coalition for the Emancipation of Osun State, CSCEOS.
JNF, in a terse statement issued in Osogbo on Saturday by its chairman, Lanre Afolayanka, said it has directed its lawyers to write the Nigerian Police and the Department of State Security to immediately arrest and investigate the ring leader of the organisation, one Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman who on Wednesday 2oth July, penned a press statement accusing the highest disciplinary organ of the Nigerian Judiciary, the National Judicial Council (NJC) of forgery, financial inducement and outright corruption.
“We read with utter shock, the statement signed by one Comrade Sulaimon, who accused Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo; Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; leadership of the Nigerian Judiciary Council, with its Panel led by Justice Ibrahim N. Auta and others of bribery and corruption in a well-planned plot to sack Justice Folahanmi Oloyede who was found guilty of bridging the ethics of her office,” the group said.
Recall Justice Folahanmi Oloyede, a justice of the Osun State high court was summarily dismissed from the Nigerian Judiciary by the NJC last week for overstepping her ethics of office that demands non-involvement in political matters.
Justice Oloyede in 2015, wrote a petition to the Osun State House of Assembly disparaging the person of the Governor and Government of the State of Osun.
“Since the group stated as a matter of fact that N4.7billion was raised in June 2015 by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, APC Governors and its National Leader and former Governor of Lagos State, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Nigerian Police and the Department of State Security must ascertain the veracity of this claim and when found out to be wrong, proceed to charge the operatives of the rogue CSO to court for injurious libel,” the JNF stated.
“We consider this accusation to be very weighty and deserving of proper investigations. However, going by its stock in trade, nothing emanating from the CSCEOS should be taken serious by members of the society.”
“As a matter of fact, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC had two months ago invited the two operatives of CSCEOS to its Ibadan office to give reasons why it should not be prosecuted for writing unsubstantiated petition against the person of the person of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.”
“The latest round of accusation by CSCEOS must not be allowed to go unpunished. There should be a limit to how much falsehood one peddles. Having failed to remove governor Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola through the backdoor by raising that petition through Justice Oloyode, it appears the latest strategy of the group is to cast aspersion of national figures.”
“We call on all security agencies to be mindful of this group who would stop at nothing to soil the reputation of hardworking Nigerians who have spent considerable part of their life time serving this country. Failure to arrest and investigate CSCEOS will only embolden them to perpetuate more illegality in the future” the group concluded in its statement.
