By Samuel Malik, Abuja

A lawyer has written an open letter to President Goodluck Jonathan calling for the prosecution of Asari Dokubo, leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force, NDPVF, for what he described as “treasonable felony, sedition and terrorism offences,” following the latter’s interview published in Nigerian Pilot newspaper on Monday, 1st September, 2014, captioned “2015: Nobody can stop Jonathan.”

In the letter dated September 16th, 2014 and obtained by the www.icirnigeria.org, the lawyer, Oladotun Hassan, said Dokubo’s interview, in which he was said to have lent support to the Abubakar Shekau-led Boko Haram, violates the Terrorism (Prevention) Act, 2011, the Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Act, 2013 and that of the 1999 Constitution.

In the interview, Asari reportedly said: “For the insurgency (it is) good, for people like us they are helping; without shooting one bullet they are busy shooting the bullet for us. They are busy fighting our course, so let them go about doing it.

“… Nigeria cannot survive. So for me I say kudos to Shekau. You are doing my duty; he is doing what I am supposed to do. I am relaxed. Let them be doing it; let the army be running…”

Condemning the statements, Oladotun said they are an insult to the people who have lost their lives as a result of the insurgency, and by law, the former militant should not get away with such remarks.

The lawyer cited Section 2(h) of the Terrorism Prevention Act, noting that anybody who “incites, promises or induces any other person by any means whatsoever to commit any act of terrorism or any of the offences referred to in this Act; commits an offence under this Act and is liable on conviction to a maximum of death sentence.”

He said further in the letter that the fact that no action was taken about Dokubo’s upsetting comments in the past which were against the law “may have emboldened him to make the recent comments.”