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Chief Yomi Alliyu, the lead counsel to Yoruba nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, has criticised the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, for linking his client with terrorism financing.
Earlier on Friday, Malami had during a press conference in Abuja alleged that Igboho transferred money to a company linked with terrorism financing.
But reacting in a statement on Friday, Alliyu said Malami fruitlessly tried to
paint his client and those patronising his car trade as terrorists and financiers of terrorists.
He said the money the AGF referred to was meant to buy dollars from the company.
“Sunday was alleged to have transferred
the sum of N12.7m to Abbal Bako & Sons, owned by Abdullahi Umar. Transferring money to bureau de change to buy dollars is what is done by every businessman of our client’s calibre,” he said.
Alliyu said there is no evidence of receipt of money from Abbal Bako & Sons or Abdullahi Umar.
“What the Honourable Attorney General stated are mere conjectures, not hard fact. Our client, according to him, paid Umar and not vice versa, thus belieing what the Honourable Attorney General of Federation earlier said that Chief Sunday Adeyemo is being financed by people. The picture the learned. AGF wanted to paint is that our client is being financed by Abdullah Umar allegedly involved in terrorism financing. Who is now financing who?
“Again, Chief Adeyemo is a car dealer trading in the name of Adesun International Concept Ltd. Does it mean that anybody buying car from him or selling car to him is a terrorist?
“Chief Sunday Adeyemo a.k.a Igboho Oosa, was not into Oodua Nation until last year. So finding over N273m turnover between October 2013
and September 2020 shows that he was not a poor man. His house invaded by DSS on 1st July, 2020, is worth over N2bn!” Alliyu said l.
The lawyer challenged Malami to mention the lawmaker that sent money to Igboho for terrorist act, saying “whether he would not bedamnified in exemplary damages for defamation.”
According to Alliyu, his client has not been prosecuted or found liable for any
criminal act or terrorism.
“There is also a valid and subsisting court
judgement that agitation for self-determination is not an act of terrorism but fundamental human right of any citizen.
“My learned brother Silk and Hon AGF knows that suspicion no matter how great cannot grant conviction.
“Chief Sunday Adeyemo is not a terrorist but a campaigner for self-determination,” the counseling added.