'Paul Biya indicts Goodluck Jonathan in Boko Haram war'

The official visit of President Muhammadu Buhari to Cameroon to discuss joint efforts to curb Boko Haram in the region has thrown up an indictment of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

A very credible Presidency source told Daily Sun that in the anti-terror war, Jonathan did not do much in forming a synergy with leaders of Nigeria’s neighbouring countries.

The source said during Buhari’s interaction with his Cameroonian counterpart, Paul Biya, he disclosed that Jonathan isolated himself from the leaders of Cameroon, Chad and Niger. “The major complaint, according to Biya, is that Jonathan never or seldom, at best, picked his calls. He said most times he called, Jonathan neither picked nor returned his calls. And as a result, the integration of efforts that should have stopped Boko Haram’s foray and unchallenged run was lacking.”

Biya, according to our source, said he was sure that leaders of other neighbouring countries had the same experience, and therefore, questioned how Nigeria alone would have contained Boko Haram, knowing it is an international terror group with roots and connections in some other countries from where they get into Nigeria and carry out attacks.

“This solo handling of the problem did not enable the neighbours put in much to solve the problem until it got this bad,” he said.

The source also indicated that the Jonathan administration was lax and reluctant to bring under control people very close to that government who are flagrantly involved in crude oil theft and diversion.

According to the source, while Jonathan was in power, he was aware that certain persons close to him and coming under the guise of the protection of his government were involved in high scale oil theft.

Another source from the security outfit currently interrogating some key personalities of the past administration disclosed that one of them that was detained and later released told security agencies the Jonathan administration was quite privy to crude oil theft using some government agencies and individuals as fronts.

Daily Sun was told that the administration acted in compromise while the theft lasted and never did much in checking the agencies, individuals and security fronts used in the theft.

“There is no individual that would have access to the crude oil loading terminals, bring in a vessel and load the product and set sail to the high seas without being caught. We have several agencies of government from the petroleum corporation to the conventional security bodies like the Navy and other government bodies that patrol the territorial waters, even private security outfits.

“So it is practically impossible that someone would beat all these hurdles unaided and sail out with loads of crude oil. The government was aware of the people involved and when or where the crude oil was taken. The neighbouring countries we share common sea boundaries with also knew that the Nigerian government under Jonathan merely compromised in the theft,” our source said.