Politics
N2bn Bribe: Falana Calls For Binani’s Prosecution
Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practice Commission (ICPC) to investigate allegations that the candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the Adamawa State election, Aishatu ‘Binani’ Dahiru, paid a bribe of Two billion naira to be declared the winner of the state election on Sunday.
Binani was in an illegal way declared winner of the election by the embattled Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the state, Hudu Yunusa Ari.
The REC alleged that he received N2 billion to declare Binani the winner, an allegation the governorship candidate has since denied.
Weighing into the issue, Falana, who spoke on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday, called on relevant agencies to investigate the allegations.
He said, “There are allegations that the sum of 2billion naira is fetching hands, so it is not enough for Binani to deny, there must be an investigation.”
READ ALSO: Adamawa Court Sentences Man To Death For Killing Friend Over N30,000
The senior advocate stated that those who were involved in the declaration of Binani as the winner should be questioned and brought to book, adding that Binani’s acceptance speech confirmed that she was party to the disarray.
“All those involved in the criminality that occurred, they all have to be tried under the law. It is not enough for the IGP to simply redeploy the commissioner of police involved or for the director of state security to be withdrawn from the state.
“This is not the first time that it has happened, there have been false declarations of results before now,” he said.
Speaking further, Falana said, “The EFCC and the ICPC will have to be brought in to investigate the allegations of inducement of the sum of 2 billion naira. It is also in the interest of the APC candidate to ensure this matter is fully investigated.
“The IGP would have to speed up the investigation. By now, we expect him (Adamawa REC) to have been arrested and if he cannot be found, they have to get a court order to declare him wanted.
“All the security officers involved will have to be investigated and prosecuted. INEC has done the right thing by suspending him so that he does not further taint the democratic process.”
The SAN stated that the law recommended strict sanction for any form of electoral conspiracy, malfeasance and financial inducement.
“The law is very clear on this matter, under section 120 subsection 4 of the electoral act. For any false declaration of the results of the election, anybody involved is liable to be prosecuted and the penalty is three years imprisonment which for me is not stringent enough.”