Nigeria’s immediate past President, Ebele Goodluck Jonathan has repudiated allegation that he has gone on exile in Cote D’Ivoire to evade arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Mr. Jonathan rebuttal came through a terse text message to our correspondent. Hear him “I am not on exile. I find it amusing that such a report made it to the pages of a respected national daily. I have been good friends with President Quattara and only stopped by to visit him. Nigeria enjoyed a very robust diplomatic relationship with Cote D’Ivoire while I was President.”
A leading Newspaper in Nigeria (Thisday), Monday alleged that former President Goodluck Jonathan may be on self-exile in Cote d’Ivoire.
Thisday said that the self exile may be as a result of reports that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) may arrest him immediately he steps back into Nigeria from his overseas tour on allegations of corruption and misappropriation of billions of dollars in the five years during which he was Head of State.
Thisday stated that Jonathan touched down in the West African country last week.
Sources close to the former president said the decision to go on exile is also partly responsible for the heightened attacks on oil and gas installations by Ijaw militants in the Niger Delta, resulting in the loss of an estimated 800,000-900,000 barrels of crude oil per day (bpd), to what they claimed was “the decision by President Muhammadu Buhari to renege on his promise that his predecessor had ‘nothing to fear’ from him after he handed over the reins of power on May 29, 2015”.
Since mid-2015, anti-corruption agencies led by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have focused on several allies of the former president on allegations of money laundering, diversion of public funds and contract scams, mostly linked to defence sector contracts and the purchase of arms used for the prosecution of the war against Boko Haram in the North-east. That was notwithstanding President Muhammadu Buhari’s promis not to go after his political enemies.
In the beginning of Buhari’s anti-corruption war, many public figures who served under Jonathan’s administration were arrested and are being prosecuted. Though it was perceived as ‘witch-hunting’ by some quarters, many still believe that Jonathan would not be hunted down.
However with the recent arrest of some of his closest allies, the former president has good reasons to seek refuge beyond the bothers of the country he once ruled.
Among those being probed by the current government is Mr. Aziobola Robert, one of the former president’s cousins. Aziobola is being investigated in connection to a $40 million pipeline surveillance contract.
Jonathan’s former principal secretary and confidant Mr. Hassan Tukur is also currently being grilled by the anti-graft agency.
According to a sources, the arrest of Azibaola and Tukur sent the critical message to the former president, since those two were the closest to him during his presidency.
Thisday noted that Jonathan had reliable warning from sources loyal to him that he would be arrested as soon as he enters Nigeria.
That is why he is currently seeking asylum in Cote d’Ivoire, the source told Huhuonline.com.
Jonathan left Nigeria for the United States almost two months ago travelling to several cities but stayed in New York for some two weeks.
After departing the US, he travelled to London to be with his children for a few days, preparatory to his return to Nigeria.
But while in the UK, he was warned by sympathetic officials in different arms of government of the government’s decision to arrest him once he returned to Nigeria, sources said.
It was gathered that President of Cote d’Iviore, Alassane Outtara is just one of the West African leaders who offered Jonathan asylum until he could return to Nigeria.
Sources close to Buhari are speculating that it was the news of the government’s resolve to arrest Jonathan that irked the Niger Delta militants, informing their latest attacks on oil and gas installations in the region.
One source said the militants are targeting all onshore and shallow water installations, from where Nigeria derives 90 per cent of its foreign exchange earnings and may head for the deep offshore oil fields if the federal government does not reverse the resolve to arrest Jonathan.
The source said “even though the deep water installations may be spared for the time being, they will be destroyed if worse comes to worst”.
Efforts are ongoing by governors in the region to calm the militants down, but they have remained adamant and are asking Buhari to back down on his hunt for Jonathan before any agreement can be reached.
The governors are particularly concerned that the attacks on oil installations would hurt the Niger Delta states the most due to the attendant decline in revenue.
Femi Adesina, one of the President’s spokesman denied any knowledge of plans to arrest the former president.
He said he was not aware that the former president was in exile either. He added that questions on his arrest could only be addressed by the security and law enforcement agencies.
To calm down the militants and oversee the amnesty programme, it was gathered that the former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and first Presidential Adviser on the Amnesty Programme, Timi Alaibe is being sought-after by the presidency.
Buhari who is very disturbed by the incessant attacks on oil installations in the region and its impact on the country’s finances, is mulling the advise of a senior security and intelligence chief, who has recommended that Alaibe be brought back to manage the amnesty office.
The goal, the presidency source explained, is to get Alaibe, who was the architect of the reconciliation, rehabilitation and reintegration programme for ex-militants who laid down their arms in 2009, to use his links with the former and current militants to arrest the bombings in the Niger Delta.
It was gathered that if Alaibe should yield to the beckoning of the presidency, Brigadier General Paul Boroh (rtd), who is currently managing the amnesty programme would be fired.
“Two key ministers from the Niger Delta region have received verbal queries from Buhari over the security breaches in the region,” a source told huhuonline.com.
“Even though the nation’s security agencies are on top of the situation in the region, the affected officials have been accused of not doing enough to solve the problem.
“The perception in the presidency is that the amnesty man (Boroh) is far detached from the people, he does not know the militants well, and we cannot just go into a military operation that will take innocent lives in the name of looking for the boys when there is an easier way to reach the militants and rebuild confidence.
“I think at our level, we have done our bit by suggesting to the political leadership to bring Timi Alaibe on board so that we can avoid some of these military operations.
“I can bet you that once we engage in any operation, it will take a minimum of 16 months to complete because times have changed.”
Nigeria’s crude oil production now stands at 1.4 million barrels per day (mbpd), against the budgetary target of 2.2mbpd. The figure is the lowest ever produced in 22 years.
Electric power generation has also been terribly affected since the militants have also started targeting gas infrastructure in the region.
