Metuh deserves no sympathy, says Oshiomhole

Adams Oshiomhole, Edo state governor, has expressed support for Tuesday’s handcuffing of Olisa Metuh, national publicity secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

There have been different reactions to Metuh’s appearance in court in handcuffs, with the opposition party accusing President Muhammadu Buhari of attempting to break the spirit of PDP through such measure.

But speaking during a meeting with the new council of the Edo state chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), in Benin on Tuesday, the governor said there was nothing wrong with restraining Metuh.

“If those accused of lesser crimes are handcuffed and paraded by the police and get no sympathy from the public, Mr. Metuh and others, accused of diverting huge public funds, should not have sympathy,” Peter Okhiria, his spokesman quoted him as saying.

“I want to appeal to the media to join President Buhari in fighting the anti-corruption war because if we don’t, and we allow these people to harass the president to silence, all of us are in trouble.

“I saw some headlines querying why should Metuh be in handcuffs. If people who steal he-goats, dried grass cutters are in handcuffs; I have been to the police station several times and I see young men who rob, not more than N500,000, in handcuffs; they are paraded and made to seat on the floor. Why should certain set of criminals be treated as if they are not suspected criminals and serious crimes at that?

“When you all reported lavishly how under the former president, the former defence chief set up a military tribunal to try soldiers who ran away from battle field and they were condemned to death, it was only Femi Falana who was consistent in fighting their case. Those are Nigerians who were to be killed for running away because they couldn’t confront a Boko Haram that was well armed while they were asked to go and fight with their bare hands and we were told that weapons, ammunition and everything had been provided.

“When Borno Governor said, ‘look, our armed forces are fighting with bare hands’, he was told to shut up. Now, it is clear from current revelations that the money that would have been used to arm these young men who joined the army with pride and who on a good day have the courage to fight not only at home but abroad, but because they didn’t have arms, they ran away. They were sentenced to death. Thanks to Buhari, some have been commuted now to various terms of imprisonment which I applaud and I think even that one should further be reviewed, they should summit their uniform but remain free people.

“Now, those who shared that money, this is not the usual security money, this is special appropriation to fight Boko Haram, $2.1 billion, people just shared it, everybody was using their son, co-opting young children into this while other people’s children were sentenced to death. And anybody who partakes in that and they put him in handcuffs, they say, why should he be in handcuff because he is an elite and the media will report it without also showing us pictures of some Nigerians whose fathers are not known, but are not less Nigerian than any of us, who are always not only in handcuffs but are put on the floor in various police stations and paraded even before they are charged to court and we all look at them and turn to the next pictures, it doesn’t attract a commentary.

“Why should some criminals just be celebrated even when we all can feel the amount of damage, the consequences of their rascality on our collective wellbeing. I think the media should support the President. This is not President Buhari’s fight, and you know he had reminded us that if we don’t kill corruption, it will kill us. Now corruption is fighting back.”