By JESUTEGA ONOKPASA
The current puerile attempt by the opposition to create the false impression that All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was ever involved in drug running in America should not normally warrant any response but for the fact that ours is notoriously a clime of chronic amnesia where what should ordinarily be permanently ingrained in the memories of all and sundry often needs to be reiterated and then reinforced again and again.
It is truly astonishing that anyone claiming to possess the competence for public affairs commentary would attempt to rely on a matter disposed of by the legal device of an out of court settlement to vilify the very beneficiary of such resolution and seek to cast aspersions on their integrity.
For those who might not be familiar with how the criminal law works in America and all other Common Law jurisdictions, if not in absolutely all jurisdictions worldwide, for that matter, there can never be any room for out of court settlement if someone is actually implicated in criminal activities.
Out of court settlement is completely different from plea bargaining which involves admission of guilt and invariably culminates in conviction of the person involved.
For Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to have had the boldness to actually sue the US Government over his frozen account is a testament to his confidence in his complete innocence of any involvement in the commission of any offence.
For Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to have had the boldness to actually sue the US Government over his frozen account is a testament to his confidence in his complete innocence of any involvement in the commission of any offence.
Indeed, the investigation by the FBI, itself, must have come to a final conclusion that Tinubu was indeed absolutely blameless as to the source of the forfeited amount that was part of the out of court settlement.
This is the only thing that would have compelled the FBI to seek out of court settlement instead of being embarrassed in court for hastily freezing the account of an innocent man.
That’s just how the law works.
Indeed, that the matter involving the freezing of Tinubu’s account, back in the 90s, was disposed of by way of out of court settlement coupled with the fact that the United States’ Government, itself, then later issued a clear and unambiguous clarification on the matter, through which it gave Tinubu a clean bill of health and absolved him of any malfeasance or criminal record conclusively and permanently settles the matter.
Anyone still insistent on fixating on it and thereupon peddling falsehood must either be most unconscionably mischievous or downright sawdust-headed.
*Onokpasa, a lawyer and member, All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Campaign Council, writes from Abuja.
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