As President Muhammadu Buhari travelled to the United States of America for an official visit, Umar Ardo, one of the Northern leaders, on Wednesday, May 2, 2018, sent a message to President Donald Trump to ask Buhari why he jailed one of his citizens in 1984 for 95 years.
Ardo, who is also the Secretary of Northern Leaders and Stakeholders Assembly, while speaking with newsmen in Abuja, pointed out that President Buhari was not known to be a Democrat.
The Northern leader, who is from Adamawa State, alleged that the military regime headed by Buhari in 1984, jailed Mahmet Ben Chembi without any evidence against her.
Explaining how the American lady was jailed, Ardo said that the lady merely came to do legitimate business in Nigeria when she was arrested, adding that she brought in her $17 million from the US to invest in plumbing in the building of Abuja.
Lambasting Buhari for his disobedience to court pronouncement, the Northern leader said that President Trump should ask his guest why he did that to an American citizen.
Ardo said: “There was this case of the wealthy American lady, Mahmet Ben Chembi, who brought in her $17 million from the US to invest in plumbing in the building of Abuja, but was framed of defrauding the Nigerian State and taken to Buhari’s Military Tribunal and jailed for 95 years without a shred of evidence adduced against her by the government.
“On top of it, she was fined N500 million. It was the regime of another military dictator, Ibrahim Babangida that set up a Judicial Review Panel that reviewed the case and released her from jail.
“President Donald Trump should ask his guest, President Muhammadu Buhari why he did that to his (Trump) citizen.”
Advising Nigerians to look for new leader, who has no hatred towards the citizens, the Northern leader added that Buhari’s antecedents does not portray him as a leader that could be trusted with another four years in office.
Ardo, who noted that Buhari’s regime is not corruption free, added that the truth about the activities of his regime would be unveiled after leaving office.
He said: “Having known all these about Buhari, and many, many more of such, I came to the inevitable conclusion that a person like that cannot ever make a good leader.
“It is natural, therefore, for reasonable people to oppose such a leadership and look out for an alternative. This is exactly what is going on in Nigeria today.
“In fact, such frivolous and unfounded accusations inundating Buhari’s past leadership has brought to serious question the current accusations against members of the past regime.
“No one should blame me if I question the truthfulness of the current exercise. After all, it is only after leaving office that the truth of one’s tenure is revealed.
“For as far as I am concerned, the current so-called looters’ list is nothing more than names of the likes of Ben Chembi. If the man can do it then why can’t he do it now? No wonder, with the absence of kangaroo military tribunals in the current democratic setup, the government is unable to successfully prosecute and convict any of the so-called looters three years after coming to power beyond the pages of newspapers.
“Yes, I know those former leaders have their blames, but the Buhari leadership has the most blame.”
