By Nsan Ndoma-Neji, Calabar
A Calabar-based human rights lawyer, Chief Barr. Utum Eteng, has condemned in its entirety allegations leveled against Nigeria’s Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN, by an online medium that, that he, the AGF, got gratification from the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, to enhance the appointment of a Sole Administrator for the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, saying that the allegations were baseless, as his accusers had no concrete evidence to back up their claims.
Condemning the allegations yesterday in Calabar, while reacting to a publication from an online medium, alleging that publication from an online medium which alleged that the AGF received gratification for enhancement of appointment of sole administrator for the NDDC, Utum condemned the allegations, describing it as baseless.
He siad, “Making such huge corruption claims against the person of Malami, SAN, and his high office without evidence, is to say the least, unfair and a disservice to the nation.”
He described the allegations made against Malami by his persecutors as lacking in facts, and unfair, not only tto Malami, but the exalted position he occupies in the country.
Calling on other well-meaning Nigerians to join hands in condemning what he described as dastardly act, so as to deter other news medium, which may want to castigate highly placed individuals without conrete facts to back up their claims, Eteng described the allegations as “cheap blackmail,” capable of dragging the good image of any hardworking person, who may had attained the height through hardwork, to the mud without concrete evidence to substantiate their facts.
The human rights lawyer described the allegations against the AGF by his accusers in one of the online news medium, published on Monday January 11, as baseless and a publication that lacked verifiable facts to tarnish the image of the AGF.
In a statement captioned ‘Keeping Abubakar Malami Out of Orchestrated and Sensational Publication with Intent to Blackmail’ and signed by Barrister Eteng, he urged the public to disregard the online publication as it has no concrete evidence to back up claims of the allegations against Malami.
He said, “It is pertinent at this stage to request the authors of the allegation to withdraw forthwith from public circulation of such offensive material against the AGF.”
