Why Buhari has not arrested Jonathan for corruption yet — Osinbajo

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has responded to calls by some Nigerians for the arrest of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Osinbajo said the Buhari administration does not arrest “anybody, anyhow”.

Answering a question at a session in the United States when Jonathan would be arrested, Osinbajo said the Buhari administration was not in the business of arresting just anyone anyhow.

He said all that Buhari administration does is to empower the security agencies and the anti-corruption agencies to do their jobs, without the administration trying to teleguide them.

He also added that the fight against corruption in the country was not fought on ethnic, hasty or premediated grounds.

“Corruption is not an ethnic thing, there is an equal representation in the stealing as no one operates with his/her ethnic group alone, the culprits are in every case seen so far, united by greed to steal and not by ethnic or religious interest,” he said.

He frowned at a situation where for instance as much as $15 billion has disappeared from the national coffers into private pockets, saying no responsible government would wave that aside so as not to offend people.

Osinbajo said this in Houston, Texas in the United States at a Townhall event where he interacted with U.S.-based Nigerians who asked questions live at the event and also via the internet, according to a statement issued by his spokesperson, Laolu Akande.

The vice president fielded about 30 questions at a well-attended townhall event moderated by Rudolf Okonkwo of Sahara Reporters and Nimi Wariboko of Boston University.

Answering a question on the need for community policing, the Vice President said that community policing via state police is indeed a cardinal program of the ruling APC. He said the party’s agenda cannot be introduced until there is an amendment to the nation’s constitution.

The current situation where police activities are controlled at the federal level sure has some limitations, he said, adding that “ the federal government is currently working to introduce community policing that would be in line with the constitution.”

NAN