A non-governmental organization known as MYVIE Foundation International has exposed the document of the verdict of the General Court Martial sitting in Makurdi that sentenced Master Warrant Officer Michael Oyebanji to 21 years imprisonment with other fines and demotion.
The Group in a press release by its Sub-Saharan Coordinator, Oliver Chinwendu said that the September 24, 2020 judgment of the General Court Martial on MWO Oyebanji has not only made a mockery of the Nigerian Air Force but has also portrayed Nigeria in a bad light among the community of nations.
The Group in a verdict document made available TheDispatch shows that Oyebanji who is the Vice President of the cooperative society in question was slammed with 46-count charge and was found guilty of all the nebulous 46 charges despite defending all the charges with evidence that were deliberately expunged by the court.
“We have been saying that the judgment of the General Court Martial on the case of MWO Oyebanji accused of misappropriating cooperative fund is a case of ‘selective justice’. The verdict document of the General Court Martial we are presenting to members of the public and international community today is a pointer to what we have been saying about the Nigerian Air Force.”
It added that the MWO Oyebanji has been in the guardroom since May 31, 2019 and up till now he is still in detention on December 18, 2020 for 569 days without feeding from the Nigerian Airforce.
“We found the ill-treatment of MWO Oyebanji as not acceptable the judgment of General Court Martial is no doubt the height of injustice against an innocent man whose refusal to play ball with people money is responsible for his current travail in the hand of the NAF cabal. It is only in the Nigerian Airforce you will find a lawyer as a Judge Advocate- (Squadron Leader Umoh Akpan) advising the court to expunge every iota of evidence tendered in favour of the Accused. Oyebanji defended the 46-count charge by providing evidence as to what and how the monies allegedly stolen were put to use up to the construction of the warehouse the court admitted is in existence; yet, the same court found only him guilty of the entire 46-counts.”
In the said verdict judgment made available to the TheDispatch, the Group called on Attorney General of the Federation, the Senate President, House of Representatives Speaker as well as human rights groups all over the world to mandate the Nigerian Airforce to come out and explain how it came about a verdict that is full of self contradictions as seen in the GCM verdict they don’t want members of the public to see.
The group urged the Nigerian Airforce to quickly make clarifications on how it arrived at the verdict with the various charges below:
Count Charge No 3: A cheque that was REPURCHASED pay back to the cooperative A/c as defective contract was still regarded as stolen money. Check the Eco Bank A/c dated 27 January 2016.
Count Charge No 4: Same explanation as stated in count charge no 3. Check the Eco Bank A/c dated 25 February 2016. The charge sheet, 5 N100,000 not N1,000,000 as against what the president of the GCM declared.
Count Charge No 5: Original charge was N100, 000 allegation while the president of GCM, maliciously pronounced N1,000,000.
If count charge 33, in summation of count charges 1-30 which had already being awarded jail term and other sentences, then why do they still use N23,251,760 to carry the highest jail terms if Count 33, of N23,251,260 is not to be refunded then why the total allegation of N57,589,020 still stand, because the total to be refunded will be N30,537,260.
Also the N40,000,000 claimed as stolen money has not been ascertained, because only N30,537,260 that will be refunded even if all the Asset value like land, Generating set are to be added cannot be up to N30,537,260.
Count 37 was used as charge 35 – Generator Set.
Count 39 was completely wrong because count 38 is blanked mandate or fake mandate 50 count 39, a N1,502,000 was an old charge paper.
Count charge No 39 was completely wrong charge paper.
Count 43 which was N150,000 was used as against count 44 which was N100,000.
Count 44 which was N100,000 was used as against count 43 which was N150,000- FS MICHAEL ANIETE not Michael Oyebanji.
Even money recovered and paid into cooperative bank is a still regarded as stolen money.
Special Remarks: If Count charges 34,35,36, & 37 are property to be returned, does it worth the difference between (N57,587,020 – N30,537,260) = (N27,051,760).
The Globacom (Closed User Group) investment of 2.5million of which the CUG draft has shown as investment was part of the money allegedly stolen by MWO Oyebanji, whereas this is an investment that has generated over 1million just only in the month of August 2020. The sum of N619,000,00 which was an incentive from the CUG investment still be called the initial investment of N2.5million a stolen money.
Also groups known as The Democratic and Rights Movement (TDRM) and Yoruba Youth Forum, YYF, have again called on President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene in what they called ‘selective Justice’ against MWO Oyebanji.
The Groups in separate press releases by TDRM Executive Secretary, Aderemi Adebisi and President General of Yoruba Youth Forum, YYF, Comrade Abiodun Bolarinwa accused the General Court Martial headed by Air Commodore Nazib Aliyu of embarking on ‘selective justice’ against MWO Oyebanji.
“The trial and sentencing of Master Warrant Officer Oyebanji has highlighted, yet again, the selective nature of justice in the Nigerian Army, especially in the Nigerian Airforce. The way and manner the whole General Court Martial went about the trial has shown that it is only MWO Oyebanji that it was after.
The two groups however vowed to continue to expose the hidden agenda of the Nigerian Airforce until justice is done to the case of MWO Oyebanji.