Celebrated columnist and former presidential spokesman, Olusegun Adeniyi has apologised to former Head of State, Abdulsalami Abubakar; former Defence Minister, Lt.-Gen. TY Danjuma (rtd); and suspended Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu over some incorrect claims in his column entitled, “Magu and the Abuja Power Game”.
The controversial opinion article was published on July 9, 2020.
In the article, Adeniyi claimed that Magu was suspended partly for his “power-mongering”, including ridiculing and harassing powerful personalities like Abdulsalami and Danjuma.
The article read in part, “Former Defence Minister, Lt General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma (rtd) was recently at the villa to see President Muhammadu Buhari. It was a visit borne out of rage. A billionaire oil tycoon, Danjuma had paid for the purchase of an aircraft. His cheque bounced!
“The order to withhold payment, he was told by his banker, came from Magu! From what I gathered, it took some time before the president could convince Danjuma that he knew nothing about what was clearly power mongering by a reckless public official.
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“A few weeks before that incident, the Minna residence of former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar was raided by EFCC operatives who “turned the house upside down”. The president also got to know only after the deed had been done.
“While neither Danjuma nor Abdulsalami is above the law, power should never be used to harass and ridicule people, whether high or low. And even where there are justifications, for citizens at that level, these actions should certainly not occur without the president’s knowledge.”
But in an apology published today, July 16, Adeniyi said his sources fed him incorrect information which informed his commentary.
He wrote, “Last week, I goofed big time. And I was flogged mercilessly on Twitter. A campaign of calumny was also launched against me on WhatsApp. Since I do not expect to be judged by a standard lower than the one with which I pass ‘Verdict’ on this page, I took them in stride. But let me tender my apology to former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar and former Defence Minister, Lt General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma (rtd). My sources failed me on information that the duo were victims of power-mongering by the now-suspended EFCC acting chairman, Ibrahim Magu. Rather than make excuses, let me also apologise to Magu and my readers who I do not take for granted.”