North Urges Jonathan To Prosecute Obasanjo over Political Killings.

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.