From Paul Osuyi, Asaba
the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to obey court orders and stop what it described as “unwarranted persecution of former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan.”
NANS, in a statement in Asaba, berated EFCC for embarking on fruitless venture and frowned at what it tagged as “noxious and brazen disregard of court rulings,” by the commission. The statement signed by Coordinator of NANS in Zone ‘B,’ comprising higher institutions of learning in the South South and South East, Pedro Obi, called for the immediate unfreezing of accounts belonging to Mrs. Jonathan, as earlier ordered by the court.
NANS rejected the continuous persecution of the former first lady and Obi posited that the Ibrahim Magu-EFCC “is too desperate, at the detriment of the rule of law, to prove to his benefactors that the commission is working.”
“NANS hereby call on the EFCC to obey court rulings instead of blackmailing the court by filing stay of execution aimed at circumventing the rule of law. We also call on other persecuting agents to forthwith stop the unwarranted persecution of the former first family, as Nigerian students will no longer fold our arms and watch the continued insult and disrespect to a family that have given their all to the unity and continuous peaceful existence of our nation,” Obi said.
He said the continuous persecution of Mrs. Jonathan was a dangerous trend that must not be allowed to take root in the psyche of Nigerians, maintaining that “it is cancerous to the democratic development of our nascent democracy.”
The students’ body urged those in position of authority not to take advantage of their privileged positions to score cheap political point and get at perceived enemies.