Buba Galadima, a former ally of President Muhammadu Buhari,
has condemned the presidency’s defence of Isa Pantami, minister of
communications and digital economy, over the latter’s past comments on
supporting terror groups.
The presidency had said on Thursday that it stands by
Pantami, who had in the past expressed views in support of terrorist groups
like Al-Qaeda.
The presidency based its position on the fact that Pantami
has “publicly and permanently condemned his earlier utterances as wrong”.
Speaking on Friday when he featured on ARISE TV’s ‘The
Morning Show’, Galadinma said the presidency’s reaction shows that if anyone
who commits a crime and expresses remorse is pardonable, then Joshua Dariye and
Jolly Nyame, ex-governors of Plateau and Taraba states, respectively, should be
released from prison.
Dariye and Nyame are both in jail for criminal
misappropriation of public funds and abuse of office.
“This issue is not a question of religion, because I don’t
believe Isa Pantami is a representative of Islam. It is an issue that negates
the laws of our country. We can’t pick and choose. If anybody commits any
offence, irrespective of his position, tribe, or religion, the law must take
its course. This is a moral burden on the shoulders of this government,”
Galadima said.
“We shouldn’t choose and pick because if anybody who commits
an offence apologises and should be let free, then let the federal government
release Jolly Nyame, Dariye of Plateau state; they have been jailed and they
had remorse in court. Or those that are being interrogated for theft should be
left off the hook if they apologise.”
Galadima added that since Pantami has admitted that he
committed a crime, he should face the consequences.
“Pantami has already admitted his crime, so there is no need
to investigate anything. He has already admitted and apologised. Whether the
apology is good enough to exonerate him, that I wouldn’t know. It is
opportunism by these clergymen all over, on both sides, that they play to the
gallery because they want to draw attention,” he said.
“Now, he did that in a certain period and now he is reaping
the fruits because he has been recognised and given an appointment. Now that
his past was bad, it is important that he faces his own music.”
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