President Goodluck Jonathan told a crowd of party faithful that the leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND), Henry Okah, was procured by some Nigerians to assassinate him. President Goodluck Jonathan on MEND in 2010 And 2015Jonathan on MEND in 2010 and 2015Nigerian and South African intelligence, he said, however foiled the plot. In 2010, when MEND claimed responsibility for the Nigeria’s Independence Day bomb explosions in Abuja, Mr. Jonathan absolved the group of blame even when MEND announced that Jonathan had asked it to blame Northerners for the explosions. Speaking further today, Mr. Jonathan suggested that MENDs endorsement of Buhari for next month’s presidential election means that Mr. Okah has political connections with the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari.Mr. Jonathans outburst today is curious because in addition to denying’s that MEND carried out the 2010 Independence Day bombing, which claimed 27 lives including those of security agents, neither Nigerian nor South African prosecutors ever claimed that the attack targeted the Nigeria ruler. On the contrary, Mr. Okah provided evidence that several aides to President Jonathan were in communication with him, asking him to not claim responsibility for the bombing. Such aides, including Oronto Douglas and Tony Uranta, pressured Mr. Okah to implicate former military dictator Ibrahim Banged as well as the owner of Africa Independent Television (AIT) in the bombing.Observers say Mr. Jonathan’s new account follows internal and external pressures upon him to find something he can hang his campaign on given the unexpected support General Buhari is gaining nationwide.
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 21:07:06 +0000
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