Mohammed Bello Adoke: Tinubu’s Close Ally Engineered His CCT Trial
A former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice,
Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), has revealed that a close ally of a former
governor of Lagos State and National Leader of All Progressives Congress
(APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, engineered his trial before the Code of the
Conduct Tribunal (CCT).
Adoke, who stated this in an interview with an online newspaper, Premium
Times, said: “Bola Tinubu’s trial took place, it was his case with Code of
Conduct Tribunal. It was a very unfortunate thing. But what most people
don’t know is that a lot of people, who claimed to be close to Bola Tinubu, a
particular human rights lawyer, was the one that engineered that trial.”
When pressed further to know who the lawyer was, he said: “You will read it
in my book (laughter). It is there in my book, a particular human rights
lawyer was the one going around the political authorities at that time saying:
‘Is this how you people are going to allow Tinubu? He has stolen Lagos
blind, is this how you are going allow him to take over Nigeria, you people
should move against him.’
“At the end of the day, the Code of Conduct Bureau people on the instigation
of this lawyer, and I am happy that Mike Oghiadomhe is alive, I am happy
persons like Ita Ekpenyong is alive and I wish that the late Azazi is alive
because they would have been able to corroborate this story. How Bola
Tinubu’s trial came about was unnecessary.
“Again, the same lawyer was one of those who went to tell Tinubu that
“ohh… it is Adoke that is against you.’ That was why at that time Bola
Tinubu, I think in 2012 or thereabout, came out to say that ‘the Attorney
General is against me’ until he spoke to me through Lai Mohammed, who
incidentally, was a great friend of mine before he became a minister and who
has 24/7 access to me when I was minister.
Adoke, however, denied that the institution of the case against Tinubu did
not emanate from him.
His words: “Let me tell you something; what was happening was that I told
you in government there are many mansions, there are many interest groups,
and there is so much sense of blackmail. I was fighting on so many fronts.
Some of these anti corruption agencies will go and say ‘we are trying to fight
corruption, it is the Attorney General that is not allowing us’ and you know
how they use the issue of corruption as a base.
“It is so easy. So, when they continue that; I had advised that to me it was
unnecessary, but since they didn’t listen, the CCB people came, we said ‘well,
we don’t believe in this prosecution’ but they said they have a private lawyer
who will prosecute for them under fiat; we gave them the fiat.”
Asked whether it was the allegation against him that stopped him from
coming to Nigeria, Adoke said it was not the allegations that dissuaded him.
His words: “It is the fact that I needed to look at the security situation, the
fact that I have some intelligence. It is also the fact that I would not put
myself before a moving train. Because of the fact that I needed to be heard
because the modus operandi of those investigating was working to an
answer, not investigative. I am ready to submit myself to prosecution. I am
not ready to submit myself to persecution.
“I was not running away. I am not refusing to come. It is very important
because I like to be very clear about that. I also had some health challenges,
very critical health challenges, and I needed to address them as well. I have
to be healthy and alive to be able to face a trial.”
Stating the role he played in pleading with former President Goodluck
Jonathan to accept defeat in the 2015 elections, Adoke said: “The fact is that
some tried to claim more credit than the others. I would say it was a
collective effort. And, at the end of the day, we have to give credit to
President Jonathan who decided not to go with the hawks and decided to go
with those of us that were the doves.
“Anybody can claim credit but what was most important was that as at that
time, those of us who took the decision that the president should call Buhari
to concede defeat to him so as to douse tensions took into consideration the
overall interest of the country. I would tell you this; people who talk just talk
because they want to claim the credit. Claiming credit is cheap, but they
don’t know what goes into the working of any situation that arises.
“I think on the 31st of March, if I am not mistaken, on that day in the
morning, the PDP National Chairman, Adamu Mu’azu, had come to see me in
the office. He treats me like his younger brother and he is someone that has
been very nice to me, and I have a very excellent relationship with him, and
he has been very helpful to me in exile. When he came to see me, he said
‘my brother, look, this is the situation on the ground. I am looking at the
likely consequences of the president not conceding defeat or not doing this.
“In the interest of the nation, if by 5.pm this evening the president does not
concede defeat, I as the National Chairman of the PDP will concede defeat
on behalf of the party.’
As the Attorney General, a member of the national security council and as a
frontline member or if you permit me to say, part of the kitchen cabinet of Mr.
President, I knew the implications for the country and implications for the
party. It will also further divide the gulf that existed in the country at that
time. Don’t forget that Adamu Muazu was already being viewed with a lot of
suspicions, that he was not committed to Jonathan’s second term election.
“His coming out, irrespective of the motive, which could have been a very
good motive from what he explained to me would further confirm what those
campaigning against him were saying.
“It would have escalated the Christian/Muslim dichotomy, the North/South
dichotomy, the majority/minority dichotomy, and so many other dichotomies
that were underpinnings at that time. So, what do I do? I knew the president
was in an anguished position. I needed not to compound his problem, but to
look at how to solve his problems.
“So, I went straight to the National Security Adviser and informed him that
we had a situation at hand. This is what we are faced with, how do we
approach the president? How do we get the president to do the right thing
because the figures we were waiting for, even if it goes in favour of the
president is not enough to alter the result in favour of the president? So, that
was what we did.
Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), has revealed that a close ally of a former
governor of Lagos State and National Leader of All Progressives Congress
(APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, engineered his trial before the Code of the
Conduct Tribunal (CCT).
Adoke, who stated this in an interview with an online newspaper, Premium
Times, said: “Bola Tinubu’s trial took place, it was his case with Code of
Conduct Tribunal. It was a very unfortunate thing. But what most people
don’t know is that a lot of people, who claimed to be close to Bola Tinubu, a
particular human rights lawyer, was the one that engineered that trial.”
When pressed further to know who the lawyer was, he said: “You will read it
in my book (laughter). It is there in my book, a particular human rights
lawyer was the one going around the political authorities at that time saying:
‘Is this how you people are going to allow Tinubu? He has stolen Lagos
blind, is this how you are going allow him to take over Nigeria, you people
should move against him.’
“At the end of the day, the Code of Conduct Bureau people on the instigation
of this lawyer, and I am happy that Mike Oghiadomhe is alive, I am happy
persons like Ita Ekpenyong is alive and I wish that the late Azazi is alive
because they would have been able to corroborate this story. How Bola
Tinubu’s trial came about was unnecessary.
“Again, the same lawyer was one of those who went to tell Tinubu that
“ohh… it is Adoke that is against you.’ That was why at that time Bola
Tinubu, I think in 2012 or thereabout, came out to say that ‘the Attorney
General is against me’ until he spoke to me through Lai Mohammed, who
incidentally, was a great friend of mine before he became a minister and who
has 24/7 access to me when I was minister.
Adoke, however, denied that the institution of the case against Tinubu did
not emanate from him.
His words: “Let me tell you something; what was happening was that I told
you in government there are many mansions, there are many interest groups,
and there is so much sense of blackmail. I was fighting on so many fronts.
Some of these anti corruption agencies will go and say ‘we are trying to fight
corruption, it is the Attorney General that is not allowing us’ and you know
how they use the issue of corruption as a base.
“It is so easy. So, when they continue that; I had advised that to me it was
unnecessary, but since they didn’t listen, the CCB people came, we said ‘well,
we don’t believe in this prosecution’ but they said they have a private lawyer
who will prosecute for them under fiat; we gave them the fiat.”
Asked whether it was the allegation against him that stopped him from
coming to Nigeria, Adoke said it was not the allegations that dissuaded him.
His words: “It is the fact that I needed to look at the security situation, the
fact that I have some intelligence. It is also the fact that I would not put
myself before a moving train. Because of the fact that I needed to be heard
because the modus operandi of those investigating was working to an
answer, not investigative. I am ready to submit myself to prosecution. I am
not ready to submit myself to persecution.
“I was not running away. I am not refusing to come. It is very important
because I like to be very clear about that. I also had some health challenges,
very critical health challenges, and I needed to address them as well. I have
to be healthy and alive to be able to face a trial.”
Stating the role he played in pleading with former President Goodluck
Jonathan to accept defeat in the 2015 elections, Adoke said: “The fact is that
some tried to claim more credit than the others. I would say it was a
collective effort. And, at the end of the day, we have to give credit to
President Jonathan who decided not to go with the hawks and decided to go
with those of us that were the doves.
“Anybody can claim credit but what was most important was that as at that
time, those of us who took the decision that the president should call Buhari
to concede defeat to him so as to douse tensions took into consideration the
overall interest of the country. I would tell you this; people who talk just talk
because they want to claim the credit. Claiming credit is cheap, but they
don’t know what goes into the working of any situation that arises.
“I think on the 31st of March, if I am not mistaken, on that day in the
morning, the PDP National Chairman, Adamu Mu’azu, had come to see me in
the office. He treats me like his younger brother and he is someone that has
been very nice to me, and I have a very excellent relationship with him, and
he has been very helpful to me in exile. When he came to see me, he said
‘my brother, look, this is the situation on the ground. I am looking at the
likely consequences of the president not conceding defeat or not doing this.
“In the interest of the nation, if by 5.pm this evening the president does not
concede defeat, I as the National Chairman of the PDP will concede defeat
on behalf of the party.’
As the Attorney General, a member of the national security council and as a
frontline member or if you permit me to say, part of the kitchen cabinet of Mr.
President, I knew the implications for the country and implications for the
party. It will also further divide the gulf that existed in the country at that
time. Don’t forget that Adamu Muazu was already being viewed with a lot of
suspicions, that he was not committed to Jonathan’s second term election.
“His coming out, irrespective of the motive, which could have been a very
good motive from what he explained to me would further confirm what those
campaigning against him were saying.
“It would have escalated the Christian/Muslim dichotomy, the North/South
dichotomy, the majority/minority dichotomy, and so many other dichotomies
that were underpinnings at that time. So, what do I do? I knew the president
was in an anguished position. I needed not to compound his problem, but to
look at how to solve his problems.
“So, I went straight to the National Security Adviser and informed him that
we had a situation at hand. This is what we are faced with, how do we
approach the president? How do we get the president to do the right thing
because the figures we were waiting for, even if it goes in favour of the
president is not enough to alter the result in favour of the president? So, that
was what we did.
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