By Ebitonye Akpodigha
President Muhammadu Buhari has emphasised that he never influenced the by the Department of State Services (DSS) to arrest of judges linked with corruption.
In view of this, Mr Buhari has advised journalists and other Nigerians to stop linking him to the issue, saying he would be the last person to authorise such.
Speaking through his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu on Sunday, President Buhari noted that he had never for once suggested to his lawyers to approach any judge for assistance to win his cases, stressing that he lives by this principle and has never deviated from it.
According to Mr Shehu, despite the President’s personal familiarity with some court judges, he had never used such to seek favours from them from 2003, 2007 and 2011 when he was challenging the fairness of the presidential election results during the periods in question.
The President’s media aide also explained that his boss doesn’t tell courts how to do their jobs and that anybody accused of corruption is protected by law to defend their innocence.
He explained that the purpose of the law is to punish the guilty and acquit the innocent, noting that the law projects the rights everyone.
Mr Shehu said the President doesn’t have any powers to force any court to convict anybody who is innocent, arguing that in a democratic society, that cannot happen without resistance by the people.
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