The immediate past Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has said if the All Progressives Congress (APC) could establish the link between him and suspected international fraudster, Ramon Abbas, aka Hushpuppi, he would be ready to stand trial.
Dogara of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who is still a member of the House, said this in reaction to a statement by the APC Deputy Publicity Secretary, Yekini Nabena, which demanded the probe of some PDP leaders, including the immediate past President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki; former Vice-President and PDP’s 2019 presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar; and Senator Dino Melaye, among others, over their alleged romance with Abbas.
Dogara reacted to the allegation in a statement issued by his media aide, Turaki Hassan, titled ‘The Fatuous and Infantile Statement by the Smellfungus Called Yekini Nabena.’
The statement said the APC leaders had also taken photographs with another Dubai-based Instagram celebrity, Ismaila Mustapha, aka Mompha, who the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission was prosecuting over alleged fraud, money laundering and running a foreign exchange business without the authorisation of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Hassan said, “If appearing in a group photograph is what Nabena is now using to establish a link or connection to crimes or alleged criminals, then, why didn’t he issue such a statement in the wake of the arrest of a suspected money launderer by name Ismaila Mustapha,aka Mompha, whose pictures with notable personalities, including some APC governors are all over the social media? Is Nabena guilty of selective amnesia or share perfidy? Who is Nabena scared of? Who is he trying to fool?
“For the records, Rt Hon Yakubu Dogara has agreed to waive his right to a trial and go to jail if Nabena establishes any form of links or connection between him and the alleged cyber criminal before the event where the picture was taken and after the event until now. For R Hon Yakubu Dogara, that picture was just another picture among the thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of such pictures with Nigerians from all walks of life.”
