Accident: Jonathan Must Not Be Killed, Niger Delta Youths raise alarm

The Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide has threatened to shut down the economy if anything evil happens to former President Goodluck Jonathan.

The convoy of the immediate past president was involved in accident in which two of his security aides died.

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In a statement, Jonathan said the duo died within the vicinity of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

Reacting to the incident, the IYC called on security agencies to probe it and make public the circumstances that led to the accident public.

In a statement released in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, IYC National President, Peter Timothy Igbifa, alleged that the accident was a premeditated attempt by some conspirators to end the life of the former president ahead of the 2023 general elections.

According to him, the orderlies used themselves as human shields to protect Jonathan and in the process paid the supreme price.

He described the action of the orderlies as the highest level of sacrifice, adding that the Niger Delta region and the entire Ijaw nation would continue to remember their heroic deeds.

“To such satanic agents, the only way to stop the rumoured plot to return Jonathan back to Aso Rock in 2023 is to eliminate him. We know in Nigeria, there is nothing desperate politicians, who see others as a threat to their ambitions, cannot do,” he said.

Igbifa warned that the entire Niger Delta and the Ijaw nation would rise in an unprecedented revolution that would if anything happened to Jonathan.

He said Jonathan was not just an asset to the country but a priceless and cherished gift to the global community because of his disposition for peace and entrenchment of democratic values in Africa and the world.

He called on security agencies to beef up security around Jonathan, saying it would be the highest national embarrassment if anything happened to him through a planned accident.

He said: “We can swallow all the insults and marginalisation thrown at us as a people but what we cannot take is making attempts on the lives of our icons.

“Therefore, those who are against the return of Jonathan to Aso Rock should explore other peaceful ways to stop him instead of resorting to violence that can plunge the entire country into endless crisis.

“This is the same with any Niger Deltan contesting for the office of President across political parties. Don’t attempt to take their lives rather, defeat them politically.

“We are calling on security agencies to rise up to their responsibilities and beef up security around the former President. They should probe this accident and make public the circumstances that led to it. The blood of our hero cannot be used to settle political scores”.

FRSC Reacts

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) had told Daily Trust that “speeding” is the possible cause of the accident.

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Sector Commander of the corps, Samuel Ogar Ochi, said a full-scale investigation had been launched into the accident.

He said, “For me as the FCT FRSC sector commander, I got the information about the crash and swung into action by proceeding to the National Hospital to confirm the status of the victims.

“And from what we gathered was that that vehicle could be on the speed. It was going at a particular speed that made it possible for the driver to lose control. That is the picture we are still having, but then, the detail of the crash will be made known after the investigation has been concluded.”