Former president Olusegun Obasanjo came under attack for insulting Justice Mohammed Idris of a Federal High Court in Lagos.
Obasanjo had described the judge as “ignorant and stupid” for directing all past civilian presidents from 1999 to account for the loot recovered from Sani Abacha
“They said the money recovered from Abacha, I should account for it. What stupidity! The man who asked for it, the man who gave the judgment or who answered them are all stupid, with due respect.
“I don’t keep account; all Abacha loots were sent to the Central Bank of Nigeria and every bit of it was reported to the minister of finance… But again, it shows ignorance, total ignorance, which is lacking and you wonder, are these people educated?” the ex-president said.
Kolawole Olaniyan, the legal adviser of the International Secretariat of Amnesty International in London, said that Obasanjo’s criticism was not only an attack on the judiciary but also on the Freedom of Information Act
He described as unfair Obasanjo’s attack on the judge who could not defend himself against “inappropriate criticism,” stressing that “there’s nothing stupid in Justice Idris insisting on transparency and accountability of leaders who once held a position of trust and control over the public treasury.”
Olaniyan described Justice Idris’ judgment as “a great victory for transparency and accountability in the country”