North asks Jonathan to prosecute Obasanjo

The North has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to bring officials of the former President Olusegun Obasanjo administration to book over political killings which, according to Jonathan, took place during Obasanjo's presidency.

It also insisted that the next president of Nigeria, must emerge from the area, pointing out that President Jonathan must stand down for their own in 2015.

Interestingly, it was stated by 2 northern groups, Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, and the Northern Elders Forum, NEF, during two separate interviews with Saturday Vanguard yesterday.

Responding to Obasanjo's letter, alleging that the President had placed 1000 people on watch list, Jonathan had in turn placed political killings in the country on the door steps of the former President.

Jonathan stressed that all the political killings since the Fourth Republic began, took place at the time Obasanjo was President.

According to Jonathan, although political killings had occurred in the country, none of them had taken place since he became President about three years ago.

Among those who were said to have been politically murdered during Obasanjo’s administration included, the former Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Bola Ige, and South-South politicians, Chief Harry Marshall, Chief A.K. Dikibo, a former Senatorial Candidate of the defunct All Nigeria People’s Party, ANPP, in Imo State, Uche Orji, Arc Layi Balogun, former Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria Nsukka, UNN, Prof Chimere Ikoku, former Chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, in Anambra State, Chief Barnabas Igwe and his wife, Chief Victor Nwankwo of Fourth Dimension Publishers and Chief Funso Williams.

It would be recalled that in the letter to Obasanjo dated December 20, 2013, Jonathan called the former president's allegations baseless and having no proof behind them.

However, reacting to President Jonathan’s allegation on political killings before he came into office, the National Publicity Secretary of ACF, Mr Anthony Sani, said,

"If you consider the submissions by Mr President,whose place in the order of things, is to provide order and direction to the nation… I wonder if he needs ACF to ask him to take necessary actions that are within his mandate.

"I have made it clear that what the former president wrote to his place-holder, President Jonathan, except perhaps the issues of training and arming snipers against political opponents-was common place knowledge. The same with the issues raised by President Jonathan. Meanwhile, Prof Abdullahi who spoke in an interview with Saturday Vanguard noted that the North had already made its position on the 2015 presidency known to President Jonathan’s emissaries, pointing out that a list of 151 key northern politicians and leaders was drawn by presidential political tacticians with a view to wooing them to work for the president in the next general elections.

The former ABU Vice Chancellor and Presidential Adviser on Food Security admitted to Olusegun Obasanjo, said that he and some other northern leaders, whose names appeared on the list, had already been contacted for possible support to Jonathan ahead of the impending election.

He said however that the presidential team must have hit the rock, as most of the northern elements consulted on the need to work for Jonathan’s re-election, politely turned down the offer.

Abdullahi did not mention the name of any of those who contacted them and who politely rejected the offer to work for the president.