1990 coup: Jonathan should grant Gideon Okar state pardon – JT Orkar

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Dr. Joseph Targema Orkar is the elder brother of late Major Gideon Orkar, who led a coup to overthrow the former military President, Ibrahim Babangida in 1990. In this interview with HENRY IYORKHASE in Makurdi, he calls for a revolution in Nigeria, saying it is the only way to regain the lost values and vision of the nation’s founding fathers. Excerpts:

Would you say the courage of your late brother, Major Gideon Orkar, executed 23 years ago for attempting to overthrow former Military President, Ibrahim Babangida, runs in the family?

First, I want to correct the impression that late Major Gideon was my immediate younger brother. He was the fourth after me. There were three others before him. Generally, we are an upright family and that was the way we were brought up by our late father. Late Gideon followed the family tradition – fearlessness and forthrightness, coupled with the characteristics he acquired in the military.

Tompolo Links Alam’s Pardon To Jonathan’s 2015 Ambition

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Founder of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), Mr. Government Ekpemopolo, also known as Tompolo, has described the presidential pardon granted former Governor of Bayelsa State, Diepriye Alamieyeseigha, as the best thing President Goodluck Jonathan has done for the Niger Delta people.

Tompolo who was addressing journalists at Oporoza, Warri North Local Government said the action further guarantees the Niger Delta people’s support for the President’s second term bid.

He argued that as a Nigerian, President Jonathan is constitutionally qualified to run, having been given the go-ahead by a federal high court sitting in Abuja.

Please, pardon President Jonathan

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Nigerians are justifiably outraged at the pardon of Diepreye Solomon Peter Alamieyeseigha, ex-governor of Bayelsa State. Alamieyeseigha was governor from May 1999 until December 2005, three months after he was detained in London on charges of money laundering. President Goodluck Jonathan had served under  Alamieyeseigha as deputy governor.

Instructively, in August 2005, a month before his arrest, Alamieyeseigha delivered a message, through his deputy, Goodluck Jonathan, at a seminar in Abuja on “Winning the War against Corruption”. The self-styled Governor-General of the Ijaw nation “commended government’s stride with the establishment of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Code of Conduct Bureau, and urged the bodies not to ignore the private sector”.

Pardon Spree: Ila Indigenes Urge Jonathan To Pardon Tafa Balogun

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The people of Ila-Orangun town in Osun State have called on President Goodluck Jonathan to extend state pardon to a former Inspector General of Police, Mr. Tafa Balogun, saying his conviction was political.

Osun State Chairman of the defunct Justice Party, Mr. Adesoji Adeleke, stated this in a telephone interview with our correspondent, on Friday. Adeleke, who hails from Obalogbo’s compound, Oke-Jigbo, in Okomo Ruling House, Ila-Orangun, said it was wrong of the Federal Government to leave out Balogun in the state pardon.

He said, “We are contacting all Ila parapo on Sunday with a view to knowing what next step to take on the issue. His travail is not unconnected with the politics of succession at that time.

THREAT: US threatens to cut off aid to Nigeria over corruption issues, Condemned the pardon

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The Obama administration on Friday threatened to cut off aid to Nigeria or even sanction the African country after the government of President Goodluck Jonathan pardoned a former governor accused of corruption.

“The United States government is deeply disappointed over the recent pardons of corrupt officials by the Nigerian government,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said. “We see this as a setback for the fight against corruption and also for our ability to play the strong role we’ve played in supporting rule of law and legal institution building in Nigeria, which is very important for the future of the country, obviously.”

US Government condemns Jonathan's pardon for Alams and others ( What Do You Think?)

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The United States Government is deeply disappointed over the recent pardons of corrupt officials by the Government of Nigeria. We see this as a setback in the fight against corruption." US Mission in Nigeria.
Meanwhile presidential spokesman Doyin Okupe has said the the Presidential Pardon granted the former Bayelsa governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, can be equated to the same pardon accorded late Emeka Ojukwu and Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

Diya, Bulama, Alamieyeseigha, Yar’adua Granted Pardon

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Former Chief of General Staff, Oladipo Diya and Former Chief of Staff Supremem Military Concil, and brother of the late President, Major General Shehu Musa Yar’adua received a State Pardon from the National Council of State, this afternoon, a source who attended the meeting has revealed.

Also pardoned were ex-Major Bello Magaji NA/6604, Mohammed Lima Biu, Shettima Bulama, Former Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha, Major Geeneral Abdulkareem Adisa (Post Humous) and Major Segun Fadipe.