Corruption: Buhari has incriminating evidence to jail Jonathan but chose not – Prof Paden

President Muhammadu Buhari biographer, Prof. John Paden, has claimed that Buhari has incriminating evidence he can use to put his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan in jail for corruption but has chosen not to.

Paden, a professor of International Studies made the claim in his recently launched book, ‘Muhammadu Buhari: Challenges of Leadership in Nigeria’.

The author wrote that the President was more interested in the recovery of stolen loots than sending officials of the past administration to jail.

Paden in chapter 20, page 203 wrote: “As of the early months of 2016, it appeared that the EFCC was not going after Jonathan. Nor was it going after former president Obasanjo. The question of the stability of the entire political system seemed at stake.”

He alleged that Buhari had in his possession evidence of corruption against “Jonathan but his larger purpose was not to put former high-level officials in jail. Rather, it was to retrieve stolen funds and to change the political culture of the country.”

In chapter 8, page 67 of the book, the author claimed that Jonathan withdrew “enormous” funds from the treasury as the March 28 Presidential election drew nearer.

“The threat of postelection violence was palpable. There would be winners and losers, quite likely with a regional or ethnoreligious profile. The international community was deeply concerned. Was Nigeria on the brink? High level diplomatic demarches were made to both candidates. A highly publicised ‘Peace Accord’ was signed by Jonathan and Buhari. But would they be able to control grassroots supporters,” he wrote, explaining events leading to the election.

“As March 28 approached, enormous sums of money were withdrawn from the treasury by the incumbents,” he said.

Meanwhile, the book also claimed that Buhari had letters Jonathan wrote asking for “off-budget funds”.

#buhari #jonathan #paden