Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-Corruption,
PACAC, Prof Itse Sagay, SAN, has said he never supported the extradition
of former governor of Bayelsa State, late Diepreye Alamieyeseigha from
the United Kingdom.
In a statement he entitled, “My relationship with the late Diepreye
Alamieyeseigha, former governor of Bayelsa State”, Prof. Sagay described
the report as, “wicked and malicious lie, cooked up by some
opportunists.”
He said, “I wish to correct the false allegation made against me with
regard to former Governor Alamieyeseigha, namely that I supported his
being extradited to the U.K because it goes to my character, an
attribute which I regard as fundamental.
“I was involved in Alamieyeseigha’s matter on two related areas,
namely, (i) his illegal and gangster like removal from the office of
Governor and (2) whether he was entitled to immunity outside Nigeria as
Governor of a State in Nigeria.
“I was never involved in his trial for economic and financial crimes
as alleged. So the question of defending him for corruption does not
arise. That was a criminal case handled by other lawyers, which I do not
even remember.
“Given my firm view that the former Governor was entitled to immunity
outside Nigeria and that he was illegally removed from office, I could
not, in anyone’s wildest imagination, have supported his being
extradited to London for trial.
“In any case, he had already been tried and sentenced to imprisonment
in Nigeria, and was entitled to plead “autrefoi convict” (previously
convicted) as provided in Section 36(9) of the Constitution, which
prohibits double conviction for the same offence. Until his sad passing
away, I remained loyal as his former lawyer, to the former Governor.
“Indeed, a few days to his passing away, I got a text message from
him that he was coming to see me in Lagos. Sadly, that was never to be.
The false and vindictive accusation that I called for his extradition to
the U.K. is a wicked and malicious lie, cooked up by some opportunists,
who just wanted to tarnish my image.”
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