Support Onyema to prove his innocence, group urges Buhari, Federal Government

 

BY OUR EDITOR

The pan-Igbo group of professionals, Nzuko Umunna, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari, and indeed the Federal Government of Nigeria, to give adequate support to the Chairman and CEO of Air Peace Airline, Mr. Allen Onyema, in his quest to clear his name against charges of money laundering and bank fraud leveled against him by the United States Department of Justice.

Onyema was indicted by a grand jury for alleged $20 million fraud and money laundering. But he has vigorously denied the charges, saying that he was innocent of all the charges and that he had conducted his business legally, vowing that the United States Government will not find any dirt on him.

Nzuko Umunna advised the Federal Government to deviate from “the usual pattern of throwing our citizens under the bus” whenever they are faced with problems in foreign countries.

“For once, the Federal Government should activate its much-touted citizen diplomacy, a model that has been elevated to a fine art by the United States itself,” the group counselled in a statement issued Sunday.

The association of influential technocrats spread across the globe expressed “shock and deep concern” on “the frenzy with which anti-graft agencies have already set up a ‘special panel’ that has swung into action even on a weekend to fish for evidence to convict a Nigerian citizen.

“With hindsight, the United States is not accustomed to such frenzy or even cooperation when their citizens are at the receiving end of these indictments in foreign jurisdictions. It also tends to give vent to the conspiracy theory making the rounds that this is more of a grand design to liquidate another thriving Igbo business mogul than any attempt at combating alleged fraud.

“A similar fate was suffered by Messrs Cletus Ibeto, Ifeanyi Ubah, Willie Anumudu and Innocent Chukwuma of Innoson fame, to name a few. This is highly unacceptable in a nascent democracy with a very fragile economy,” the statement cautioned.

Nzuko Umunna’s apprehension is hinged on the reported statement by the EFCC that one of the banks that wired the funds through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had been on its radar for a while and had been allegedly implicated in a $115 million poll bribery scam in 2015.

“This is a clear case of bias for which the agency ought to recuse itself entirely from the investigation, the group declared.

It added: “Even more reckless is the statement by the Personal Assistant to the President on Social Media, Lauretta Onochie, who through her verified Twitter handle practically convicted Mr. Onyema even before he has had any opportunity to face the charges, contrary to the clear provisions of the 1999 Constitution which holds every citizen innocent until the contrary is proved.

“Onochie’s assertion that, ‘American laws go after those who break them. What a man sows…’ is the height of insensitivity and recklessness.

“Given that she is a personal aide to Mr. President, there is an urgent need for The Presidency to clear the air on whether the Federal Government has already convicted Mr. Onyema of the charges even when Nigerians expect that he should be given full protection by the Buhari Administration, especially given that he was only recently celebrated by all Nigerians for his patriotic role in airlifting stranded Nigerians out of South Africa, at the peak of xenophobic attacks and recommended for national honours by the National Assembly, as a model in patriotism.”

Nzuko Umunna noted that while it was committed to a just determination of the case, Air Peace remains the largest airline in Nigeria and West Africa and its collapse would not be in Nigeria’s strategic economic and national interests, aside from the incalculable losses and hardships this would cause to the flying public and its teeming direct and indirect employees.

It further alerted that the US grand jury system was not fool-proof as it had been widely criticised by leading lawyers’ associations, such as the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) and the American Bar Association (ABA).

“It is noteworthy that the influential ABA has described the grand jury system as being a mere rubber stamp for the prosecution without adequate procedural safeguards, while NACDL has made several proposals towards a reform of the system by an obligation to present evidence which may exonerate the target or subject of the offense and the right for targets or subjects to testify among others,” the group stated in the statement.

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