A Member of the National Discourse of the Coalition for A Better Nigeria, Otunba Jumoke Ogunkeyede, has lampooned the former Military Administrator of Lagos State and Chairman, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd) over his alleged role in the truncation of the democratic struggles of 1993 Presidential election.
He said “I am miffed to see Buba Marwa listed as the Chairman of MKO Abiola memorial event. He was allocated a lot of dollars to make sure that the democracy struggles did not survive when he was the Military Attaché at the United Nation under the Military regime of Gen. Babangida and Abacha. He sent hired thugs to destroy the movements in the United States of America.
“He would boastfully claim he had enough dollars to peg our movements. He was to be arrested for arson for the burning of my house on June 15, 1996. This was two days before the candlelight vigil for Kudirat Abiola. The police could not arrest him because of the fact that he had diplomatic immunity then”.
Responding, Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd) described Otunba Jumoke Ogunkeyede as a clown who is bent on tarnishing his image and reaping from where he has not sown. He further described the report as an embellishment of falsehood that carries no weight while warning Nigerians to beware of his antics.
He said, “In June 1996, I was in New York, I was appointed to Lagos State Government Service only in August of the same year. I could not burn someone’s house in Nigeria from there, and if I burnt his house in June 1996 and got appointed barely yet months later back in Nigeria, the question ought to be asked. Why was he silent all through including my time as Governor of Lagos state?
Gen. Marwa further stated that few months into his job as Lagos Administrator, he suffered an assassination attempt on 16 December, 1996 in Lagos which was orchestrated by the then Military Administration of Gen. Abacha.
Speaking on the controversial issue, Comrade Awa Banji described Gen Buba Marwa as a man who had contributed to the growth of democracy in Nigeria since 1999 while challenging Otunba Jumoke Ogunkeyede on why he did not speak up when Buba Marwa was being considered to be the Chairman of NDLEA.
Packaged by Dare Raji
