TheCable

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) told “disheartening” lies about Matthew Kukah’s visit to Reuben Abati and Femi Fani-Kayode (FFK), according to Jude Ndukwe, FFK’s media aide.

Ndukwe said though Kukah visited the trio of Abati, FFK and Musilu Obanikoro, he did not speak about their cheerfulness.

He accused Wilson Uwujaren, spokesman of the anti-graft agency, of trying to make a “caricature of the seriousness of the condition of the detainees”.

Uwujaren had quoted the cleric as saying the suspects were in high spirits.

However, Ndukwe disagreed, insisting that Kukah made no comment on cheerfulness, but only spoke “encouraging words” to them.

“On his arrival there, he met them at the clinic and afterwards had some private moments with them away from the prying eyes of journalists,” Ndukwe said in a statement.

“Bishop Kukah spoke inspirational words of encouragement to the trio wherein he encouraged them to be strong and see this as a trying period for them.

“He prayed for them before departing. It was therefore very shocking to us to read the statement of the commission’s spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, wherein he alluded a lot of things supposedly said by the Catholic cleric and wove disheartening lies around them.

“Even if we decide to agree that Kukah said the clinic and detention area of the commission was ‘clean and orderly’, we reject the notion that Kukah said the trio was ‘cheerful’. This was obviously added to make a caricature of the seriousness of the condition of the detainees.”

Ndukwe said the EFCC was deliberately manipulating the media against the trio as there was nothing to be cheerful about.

“That some of EFCC’s facilities were reportedly said to be ‘clean and orderly’ does not give them the liberty to illegally detain Nigerians for as long as they wish,” he said.

“Even if EFCC converts a five-star hotel to its facility, it can never be good enough to illegally keep citizens on account of their political leanings.”