Former President Goodluck Jonathan has replied respected legal luminary, Professor Itse Sagay SAN who made a recent statement that Jonathan should confess his involvement in the $2.1 billion Arms Deal before he is arrested.
Jonathan said Sagay should strictly abide by the ethics of his profession because no one can be tried on the pages of the newspaper.
In a statement issued by Dr. Abubakar Sulaiman, his former minister of National Planning, Jonathan said “One should expect the re¬spected learned scholar to know that you don’t hang a suspect on the pages of newspaper or via social media until he or she is found guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction.
“Accordingly, even where the learned jurist feels passionate of such a sensitive but sensational issue, he should know the right route to the vil¬la rather than taking such prejudicial position.
“It is high time our legal luminaries confined themselves to the noble eth¬ics of their profession than toeing the path of some mischief politicians.
“And we pray that when the report of his Committee finally comes out, it will reflect and incorporate the noble principles of rule of law, fair hearing and impartiality so as to meet the ir-reducible minimum standard expected in matters of this nature. We also pray that it may not end up dashing, rather than raising the hopes of average Ni¬gerian in the vintage APC fashion, as with most things these days.”
Sagay during a recent interview described Jonathan’s involvement in the arms deal as a sensitive one adding that his concession of defeat to Buhari dur¬ing the March 28 presidential election does not make Jonathan a hero.