Sniper list: Pres. Jonathan wants to kill us – Buhari, Amaechi, others cry out‏

www.twitter.com/platform9ja

The controversy over the existence or
otherwise of a sniper list which the government
intends to use in annihilating its political
opponents continues to draw reactions.
Members of the opposition All Progressives
Congress (APC) including the party leader. Bisi
Akande, Nasir el-Rufai, Rivers governor, Rotimi
Amaechi and others have cried out saying their
lives are in danger.
In separate interviews with PUNCH on
Saturday, they accused the President of having
their names on a sniper list which was alluded
to by President Olusegun Obasanjo in his 18-
page open letter to the President in December.
This time in the roll call, the former military
Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari; the
Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi; Bisi
Akande (a former Osun State Governor and
Interim Chairman of the All Progressives
Congress) and Nasir el-Rufai (the former
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory) have
unanimously accused President Goodluck
Jonathan of being after their lives.
According to a Nigerian Eye report:
El-Rufai had on Thursday named the top
politicians as some of the persons on President
Jonathan’s watch list. When our
correspondents sought their reactions, on
Saturday, they agreed with the FCT minister,
saying they were targets for being in the
opposition to the ruling government.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo had in an
18-page letter to Jonathan, dated December 2,
2013, accused the President of training snipers
and putting 1,000 people on a watch list. He
also accused Jonathan of having a killer-squad.
But the Presidency dismissed the allegation,
swiftly. It insisted on Saturday that President
Goodluck Jonathan had no watch or hit list as
being speculated by certain persons.
Special Adviser to the President on Media and
Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, reacted on behalf
of the Presidency.
El-Rufai, on his Twitter account on Thursday,
identified the top politicians as Buhari, Tinubu,
Amaechi, Akande and himself as some of those
on the watch list. The ex-minister stressed that
he was number seven on the list.
“I am number seven on the GEJ (Goodluck
Ebele Jonathan) sniper list, so I will only worry
when GMB (General Muhammadu Buhari),
Asiwaju (Tinubu), Amaechi, Akande, etc, are
killed,” he tweeted.
The following day, he added, “They plot and
plan, and God too plans; but the best of
planners is God. — Qur’an 8:30 … God protects
us”
In his response, Akande told one of our
correspondents that his life was in the hands of
God, noting that the mysteries surrounding
previous killings with political undertone had
yet to be unravelled by security agencies.
Akande’s media aide, Lani Baderinwa, who
spoke on Saturday, said it won’t be out of
place if the APC Chairman was placed on the
watch list, being the leader of the opposition in
the country today.
“You and I know that Nigeria is a country
where anything goes and illegal actions are the
order of the day. What else can he do than to
be hoping that the wish of the enemies will not
come to pass in his life,” he asked.
He said the watch list allegation became more
substantive as it came from an insider who
knew the workings of the government.
“It was not Chief Akande who actually made
the allegation (of a watch list); it was the
former President (Olusegun Obasanjo) who has
access to everything that the incumbent has,
you cannot deny that fact. Therefore, it is
difficult to say it is not true. The life of a man is
in the hands of God, to be or not to be. Chief
Akande remains unshaken.” he noted.
Akande’s aide said telling people to hold the
government responsible was a wasted effort,
considering that “all the murders in the last 15
years have not been unravelled.”
Baderinwa added, “Most of these unravelled
murders had the tones and tendencies of
state-sponsored assassination. How then can
we make noise that they (government) should
be held responsible? As far as we are
concerned, the life of Chief Bisi Akande is in the
hands of God.
“And we know that despite his age, he has
more to contribute to Nigeria than most of
these people who are planning to assassinate
other people for no just cause other than they
are opposition.”
Speaking for Buhari, the erstwhile spokesman
for the Congress for Progressive Change (now
merged with APC), Rotimi Fashakin, said
Buhari’s camp was not surprised that the
General’s name was on the list.
Fashakin stated that Buhari got 12 million
votes on the platform of CPC, a 10-month-old
party at that time, and had since remained a
nightmare to the President.
He said, “Everybody knows that the name of
Gen. Buhari conjures fear in the heart of the
President. That is why they would rather wish
that he is no longer in the equation. El-Rufai
cannot be far from the truth when he asserted
the VIPs that are in the wanted list. He is totally
correct.
“Jonathan’s presidency should tell us why
(former Chief Security Officer to the late Head
of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, Hamza) al-
Mustapha is being kept in the Army.
“One of the things that will be giving the
presidency sleepless nights will be how to rig.
They used some incumbent governors to
reduce the vote of the CPC.”
Fashakin said Obasanjo’s letter to Jonathan did
the nation a great service, adding that the
President’s response did not clear any doubt.
He expressed his suspicion over the
reinstatement of al-Mustapha into the army
after 15 years in detention. He said it might
not be unconnected with the watch list.
“Knowing al-Mustapha’s antecedent as one
who superintended over Abacha’s killer squad,
why shouldn’t we be apprehensive that this
government is trying to play with fire,”
Fashakin said.
He also said it was the duty of the Nigerian
state to protect Buhari, as a former Head of
State.
Fashakin added, “It will be a shame to the
Nigerian state, if the amiable General is allowed
to be taken out just like that. It is not for him
to protect himself; it is for the Nigerian state to
ensure that the dastardly plot does not
succeed because he has served Nigeria
meritoriously. It’s a good thing that Nigerians
have been put on notice. So, if anything
happens to Buhari, we know that direction we
should be looking at.”
Amaechi also revealed that although his life
was at risk, based on the inclusion of his name
on Jonathan’s alleged watch list, he was not
afraid of death.
The governor, who spoke through the Chief of
Staff of the Government House, Port Harcourt,
Tony Okocha, said el-Rufai’s findings were real.
He, however, said God was his ultimate
protector.
Amaechi said the signs that he was on the
sniper list were open to everybody. He
identified the alleged use of the Nigeria Police
to embarrass his office as one of the indicators
that he was on the list.
“We don’t own the police or any of the security
outfits in the country. They are all controlled by
the Federal Government. So, we solely rely on
God to protect us. The governor is a hero and
he will be a martyr if he dies based on what he
believes.
“We do not have any security measure and we
believe that God is the ultimate protector of
man. When a governor is being hunted with
the police and when a police commissioner
confronts a governor of a state at will, these
are signs of threat to the governor’s life,”
Amaechi added.
But while saying Jonathan had personally
explained that he had no watch list, the
presidential spokesman said any person who
felt he had seen such list should feel free to
approach security agents.
Abati said, “The President has already
addressed that matter that there is no watch
or hit list anywhere but if by any chance, el-
Rufa’i or any other person feels he has seen
any list, why has he not reported to security
agencies?
“If he has the list, let him produce it, otherwise
it appears he is just talking nonsense. It is
sheer irresponsible talk. There is no watch or
hit list anywhere.
“People should stop speculating about any list,
they should stop making themselves appear to
be important when they are actually not
important at all.”
The Attorney-General of the Federation and
Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, SAN,
had forwarded a memo to the National Human
Rights Commission, directing it to investigate
allegations of rights abuse contained in
Obasanjo’s letter.
The memo, with reference number HAGF/
NHRC2013/Vol2/5, was dated December 23,
2013, was addressed to the Executive
Secretary of the commission, Prof. Ben Angwe.The controversy over the existence or
otherwise of a sniper list which the government
intends to use in annihilating its political
opponents continues to draw reactions.
Members of the opposition All Progressives
Congress (APC) including the party leader. Bisi
Akande, Nasir el-Rufai, Rivers governor, Rotimi
Amaechi and others have cried out saying their
lives are in danger.
In separate interviews with PUNCH on
Saturday, they accused the President of having
their names on a sniper list which was alluded
to by President Olusegun Obasanjo in his 18-
page open letter to the President in December.
This time in the roll call, the former military
Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari; the
Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi; Bisi
Akande (a former Osun State Governor and
Interim Chairman of the All Progressives
Congress) and Nasir el-Rufai (the former
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory) have
unanimously accused President Goodluck
Jonathan of being after their lives.
According to a Nigerian Eye report:
El-Rufai had on Thursday named the top
politicians as some of the persons on President
Jonathan’s watch list. When our
correspondents sought their reactions, on
Saturday, they agreed with the FCT minister,
saying they were targets for being in the
opposition to the ruling government.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo had in an
18-page letter to Jonathan, dated December 2,
2013, accused the President of training snipers
and putting 1,000 people on a watch list. He
also accused Jonathan of having a killer-squad.
But the Presidency dismissed the allegation,
swiftly. It insisted on Saturday that President
Goodluck Jonathan had no watch or hit list as
being speculated by certain persons.
Special Adviser to the President on Media and
Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, reacted on behalf
of the Presidency.
El-Rufai, on his Twitter account on Thursday,
identified the top politicians as Buhari, Tinubu,
Amaechi, Akande and himself as some of those
on the watch list. The ex-minister stressed that
he was number seven on the list.
“I am number seven on the GEJ (Goodluck
Ebele Jonathan) sniper list, so I will only worry
when GMB (General Muhammadu Buhari),
Asiwaju (Tinubu), Amaechi, Akande, etc, are
killed,” he tweeted.
The following day, he added, “They plot and
plan, and God too plans; but the best of
planners is God. — Qur’an 8:30 … God protects
us”
In his response, Akande told one of our
correspondents that his life was in the hands of
God, noting that the mysteries surrounding
previous killings with political undertone had
yet to be unravelled by security agencies.
Akande’s media aide, Lani Baderinwa, who
spoke on Saturday, said it won’t be out of
place if the APC Chairman was placed on the
watch list, being the leader of the opposition in
the country today.
“You and I know that Nigeria is a country
where anything goes and illegal actions are the
order of the day. What else can he do than to
be hoping that the wish of the enemies will not
come to pass in his life,” he asked.
He said the watch list allegation became more
substantive as it came from an insider who
knew the workings of the government.
“It was not Chief Akande who actually made
the allegation (of a watch list); it was the
former President (Olusegun Obasanjo) who has
access to everything that the incumbent has,
you cannot deny that fact. Therefore, it is
difficult to say it is not true. The life of a man is
in the hands of God, to be or not to be. Chief
Akande remains unshaken.” he noted.
Akande’s aide said telling people to hold the
government responsible was a wasted effort,
considering that “all the murders in the last 15
years have not been unravelled.”
Baderinwa added, “Most of these unravelled
murders had the tones and tendencies of
state-sponsored assassination. How then can
we make noise that they (government) should
be held responsible? As far as we are
concerned, the life of Chief Bisi Akande is in the
hands of God.
“And we know that despite his age, he has
more to contribute to Nigeria than most of
these people who are planning to assassinate
other people for no just cause other than they
are opposition.”
Speaking for Buhari, the erstwhile spokesman
for the Congress for Progressive Change (now
merged with APC), Rotimi Fashakin, said
Buhari’s camp was not surprised that the
General’s name was on the list.
Fashakin stated that Buhari got 12 million
votes on the platform of CPC, a 10-month-old
party at that time, and had since remained a
nightmare to the President.
He said, “Everybody knows that the name of
Gen. Buhari conjures fear in the heart of the
President. That is why they would rather wish
that he is no longer in the equation. El-Rufai
cannot be far from the truth when he asserted
the VIPs that are in the wanted list. He is totally
correct.
“Jonathan’s presidency should tell us why
(former Chief Security Officer to the late Head
of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, Hamza) al-
Mustapha is being kept in the Army.
“One of the things that will be giving the
presidency sleepless nights will be how to rig.
They used some incumbent governors to
reduce the vote of the CPC.”
Fashakin said Obasanjo’s letter to Jonathan did
the nation a great service, adding that the
President’s response did not clear any doubt.
He expressed his suspicion over the
reinstatement of al-Mustapha into the army
after 15 years in detention. He said it might
not be unconnected with the watch list.
“Knowing al-Mustapha’s antecedent as one
who superintended over Abacha’s killer squad,
why shouldn’t we be apprehensive that this
government is trying to play with fire,”
Fashakin said.
He also said it was the duty of the Nigerian
state to protect Buhari, as a former Head of
State.
Fashakin added, “It will be a shame to the
Nigerian state, if the amiable General is allowed
to be taken out just like that. It is not for him
to protect himself; it is for the Nigerian state to
ensure that the dastardly plot does not
succeed because he has served Nigeria
meritoriously. It’s a good thing that Nigerians
have been put on notice. So, if anything
happens to Buhari, we know that direction we
should be looking at.”
Amaechi also revealed that although his life
was at risk, based on the inclusion of his name
on Jonathan’s alleged watch list, he was not
afraid of death.
The governor, who spoke through the Chief of
Staff of the Government House, Port Harcourt,
Tony Okocha, said el-Rufai’s findings were real.
He, however, said God was his ultimate
protector.
Amaechi said the signs that he was on the
sniper list were open to everybody. He
identified the alleged use of the Nigeria Police
to embarrass his office as one of the indicators
that he was on the list.
“We don’t own the police or any of the security
outfits in the country. They are all controlled by
the Federal Government. So, we solely rely on
God to protect us. The governor is a hero and
he will be a martyr if he dies based on what he
believes.
“We do not have any security measure and we
believe that God is the ultimate protector of
man. When a governor is being hunted with
the police and when a police commissioner
confronts a governor of a state at will, these
are signs of threat to the governor’s life,”
Amaechi added.
But while saying Jonathan had personally
explained that he had no watch list, the
presidential spokesman said any person who
felt he had seen such list should feel free to
approach security agents.
Abati said, “The President has already
addressed that matter that there is no watch
or hit list anywhere but if by any chance, el-
Rufa’i or any other person feels he has seen
any list, why has he not reported to security
agencies?
“If he has the list, let him produce it, otherwise
it appears he is just talking nonsense. It is
sheer irresponsible talk. There is no watch or
hit list anywhere.
“People should stop speculating about any list,
they should stop making themselves appear to
be important when they are actually not
important at all.”
The Attorney-General of the Federation and
Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, SAN,




had forwarded a memo to the National Human
Rights Commission, directing it to investigate
allegations of rights abuse contained in
Obasanjo’s letter.
The memo, with reference number HAGF/
NHRC2013/Vol2/5, was dated December 23,
2013, was addressed to the Executive
Secretary of the commission, Prof. Ben Angwe.