RELEASE AL-MUSTAPHA NOW -FASEHUN
Founder of O'dua Peoples Congress (OPC), Dr. Frederick Fasehun, on Friday called for the immediate release of Maj. Hamza Al-Mustapha to safeguard national security and integrity of the judiciary.
Addressing newsmen in Lagos, Fasehun said Al-Mustapha's position as a former security chief gave him access to sensitive information, which, if mishandled, could jeopardize national security.
News Agency of Nigeria reports that the former chief security officer (CSO) to the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, gave controversial evidence during his ongoing trial over the murder of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, wife of acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993, presidential election, the late Chief MKO Abiola.
'I have suffered vilification for all my years of unflinching support for Maj. Hamza Al-Mustapha. But the whole world appeared not to understand why I have been crusading for him to be set free from his indecently prolonged, inhuman and unjustified incarceration,' Fasehun said.
'For one, Maj. Al-Mustapha has been denied justice. The 13 years he has spent in custody amounts to 20 prison years. 'His keeping quiet despite suffering 13 years of torture and deprivation, convinced me that this man indeed valued national security above personal comfort,' Fasehun said. On Boko Haram, Fasehun said all hands must be on deck to stop shedding the blood of Nigerians for whatever reason.
'Eminent Northerners must lead the onslaught against the present state of insecurity unleashed by the Boko Haram sect.'Even when the Niger Delta crisis was at its zenith, governors and leaders of that zone disowned the militancy in the creeks. And that helped to stop the crisis in that zone and facilitated the amnesty programme,' he said. According to the OPC leader, the timing of the introducing of Islamic banking was wrong. 'Non-interest banking is not evil. But Nigeria has a peculiar situation; and the meat that may suit other countries may be poison to us here in Nigeria.
'Christians are being killed, with Muslims killed in retaliation. This rash of religious-spurred hostilities particularly calls for the country to tread with caution on the matter of a religion-based banking,' Fasehun said. He urged President Goodluck Jonathan to direct the CBN to maintain status quo for the sake of entrenching social justice, equity, secularism and national cohesion in Nigeria.. 'We say yes to non-interest banking, no to Islamic banking. However, nothing stops any bank from having a product on Islamic banking, and all willing banks can offer such a product,' he added.
On the proposed six-year single term tenure for president and governors, Fasehun said Nigerians should convene a Sovereign National Conference (SNC) to resolve the issue. He said Nigeria needed a constitution fashioned out by the component units and the ethnic nationalities at a Sovereign National Conference. On the N18,000 new minimum wage, Fasehun advised governors that could not comply with the law of the land to resign.'In addition, the country should begin to run a true federalism that guarantees fiscal federalism, resource control and devolution of powers,'' he said.
Fasehun supported the call by former President Olusegun Obasanjo for the immediate resignation of Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal. “Yoruba people have no sense of belonging in this federation where the South-West has been relegated to a backseat spectator.