I’m A Victim of OBJ’s Vindictiveness

Akeem Nafiu, Lagos - 23.02.2008

The former Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Ishaya Bamaiyi, currently standing trial for his alleged involvement in the assassination attempt on the life of the publisher of Guardian Newspapers, Mr. Alex Ibru, on Friday closed his defence insisting that he knew nothing about the incident, and that the former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, delibrately decided to tie him to the prosecution.

Throwing more light on the issue, the accused person stated that there is no way he could have sat down and plan to assassinate anybody with some junior officers.

He said that he was tagged as a NADECO man by the late General Abacha and his kinsmen, saying he was seen as an enemy of the Abacha’s government because of his principled standing on some issues.

General Bamaiyi told the court that during the regime of General Abdulsalami Abubakar, the choice of Obasanjo as the next civilian president of the country was taken by Generals Aliyu Gusau, T.Y Danjuma, Ibrahim Babangida and Abubakar himself.

He insisted that contrary to what Nigerians were made to believe, the issue was never discussed at any meeting of the Provisional Ruling Council (PRC) of which he was a senior member.

He stated that the game plan was for General Ibrahim Babangida to take over the mantle of leadership after Obasanjo might have spent his first term in office, saying it was his refusal to support the coming into power of any military man that landed him in trouble.

‘’The Government of Obasanjo was not interested in finding out the killers of anybody, the target was Bamaiyi because I did not support the candidature of an ex-military man as a civilian president.’’ he said.