The Oshiomhole's $55M Extortion Allegations and the Questionable Conduct of the DSS!

By now you must have heard of the 55 Million U.S. Dollars allegations of pay-to-play swirling around Comrade Adam Oshiomhole - a development that is gaining currency unhinged in coverage and embellishment every second.

What I find most appalling though, is the shady or legally infantile decision of the DSS to submit its findings to President Buhari and demanding of the President to do the following: One, that Adam Oshiomhole should be fired from his Chairmanship position. And two, that he should be prosecuted.

President Buhari does not have that prosecutorial power. What we have is a Presidential democracy where the three arms of government are separate but equal, equipped with constitutionally defined responsibilities. 

Also, in the leaked story, we're told that the head of the DSS is a man of impeccable character and unblemished integrity. Big deal! That is a distraction. Where is the Legal Department in the picture?

From all indications, he is not living up to the billings. That he needs rudimentary education or tutorials on the legalese of his mandates is an understatement. I will explain.

The DSS, like the FBI, works hand in hand with the Ministry of Justice and the Office of the Attorney General. Certainly NOT the Presidency. Otherwise, the fundamental principles of Separation of Powers cum Checks and Balances would be drastically eroded. 

Besides, the DSS is a creation of Statute. It is not a time-specific investigatory panel or an administrative committee set up by the President to unravel some hanky-panky shady deals unfolding at the APC front office. 

When the DSS decided to investigate allegations of bribery and extortion against Adam Oshiomhole, it acted pursuant to the spirit and letter of the law creating it. Not on account of any briefing from the Presidency.

Therefore, at the conclusion of its investigations, the next port of call is either the EFCC or the Office of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice where it could appropriately submit its findings of culpability against the Comrade. Not to Aso Rock. 

If on the strength of the allegations, the AG believes that there's probable cause to establish a prima facie case of unjust-enrichment, bribery, or extortion, he would then proceed to obtain an arrest warrant from a competent court and execute it upon Comrade Adam Oshiomhole. 

And upon the execution of the warrant and arrest, he would institute a criminal proceeding against him within twenty-four to forty-eight hours.

Adam Oshiomhole could either resign voluntarily, or the Chief of Staff to the President, acting on the prompting of the President and the stakeholders of the party, will telephone Adam Oshiomhole to tender his letter of resignation immediately. 

President Buhari is not an Emperor or a Military dictator. We're giving him responsibilities he doesn't have the constitutional power to exercise.

The question remains: Did Comrade Adam Oshiomhole receive a bribe totally about $55M with a view to influencing and did influence gubernatorial primaries in Imo State, Osun State, and Zamfara State, and a Senatorial Primaries in Kaduna State as alleged by the DSS? 

Comrade Adam Oshiomhole has not denied receiving the alleged bribe. For the few occasions that he talked to the Press, his position has been, one, it's an internal affair, two, the DSS has no constitutional power or legal rights to prosecute him, and three, as long as he enjoys the goodwill of President Buhari, he is not going anywhere.

And that's where we're today. An accused not denying the allegations but questioning the jurisdiction of his accusers and investigators.

What we are witnessing in the past few days are symptoms of institutional decay. A corollary of the procedural rigmarole that is most often costing us huge financial setbacks in the trial of high profile cases. 

The DSS is misleading the general public. It's not the responsibility of President Buhari or the Presidency to prosecute Comrade Adam Oshiomhole. EFCC, AG, and ICPC are by statutes imminently positioned to do so. 

If the DSS wants to be relevant and taken seriously in the cause of the execution of its mandate, it should have taken its findings to the office of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice. It never did.

The fact that it is an internal party affair as the Comrade argues a few days ago is irrelevant. The conduct of the election is a national affair. Therefore, every financial dealing in the process is subject to judicial review.

Finally, the President, standing alone, has no absolute power to fire or retain Adam Oshiomhole as the Chairman of APC. The stakeholders as a group - President Buhari included - does. So, Comrade Adam Oshiomhole is over stressing his mandates by insisting that as long as he enjoys the goodwill of President Buhari, he is impregnable. Complete hogwash. This is a democracy. Not a Military Dictatorship. The Party is greater than the President as well as its Chairman.