The Director of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Garuba Dauda, has urged the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) to allow its purported Director-General, Adeniyi Adeyemi, to defend himself before concluding its investigation.
Naijaonpoint reports that Dauda said denying Adeyemi an opportunity to testify could undermine the credibility and legal standing of the committee’s final report.
Speaking in an interview with Daily Trust, the CDD director argued that the principles of fairness required the lawmakers to hear directly from the detained suspect before making any findings against him.
“You can’t shave somebody’s head in his absence. Even within the context of the law, you must always allow a person to defend himself or herself before reaching a conclusion,” Dauda said.
Dauda maintained that Adeyemi’s detention by security agencies should not prevent the House panel from obtaining his testimony.
He noted that the suspect was being held by a government institution and could be presented before the committee through the appropriate legal and administrative procedures.
According to him, the National Assembly could seek the cooperation of the security agency holding Adeyemi to ensure his appearance before the panel.
He added that where a judicial order was required, the lawmakers could approach a court to secure the necessary authorisation.
Dauda argued that the committee possessed sufficient institutional powers to make arrangements for Adeyemi’s testimony rather than concluding its investigation solely on the basis of documents and submissions from government agencies.
