.IBB, Atiku, Gusau Under Surveillance .

. .- ‘We can’t be intimidated’

A few days to the commencement of the general election, the nation’s security agencies have put some prominent politicians under surveillance. Those affected include former military president Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, former vice-president Atiku Abubakar, former national security adviser Aliyu Guasu – all former PDP presidential aspirants and some other leaders of the Northern Political Leaders Forum (NPLF).A senior security officer told LEADERSHIP last night that “our reason is based on security reports from different intelligence units.”

But, spokesmen of both the former military president and the former vice-president, Prince Kassim Afegbua and Mallam Shehu Garba, said their principals could not be intimidated by the action of the security agencies.

Although the security source refused to speak further on the matter, LEADERSHIP gathered that the move may not be unconnected to their political activities, especially as the general elections draw near.

There were reports weekend that the three aggrieved PDP presidential aspirants along with other leaders of the NPLF had fixed a secret meeting for yesterday to discuss their political agenda, especially as it affects the presidential election that is coming up on April 9.

The group, under the leadership of Malam Adamu Ciroma, was said to have discussed with two opposition parties, the Congress for People Change (CPC) and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), over a possible alliance that could be designed to frustrate President Goodluck Jonathan’s presidential ambition.

The president had, on Saturday, at his presidential campaign grand finale accused some opposition parties of sponsoring political violence across the nation to score some political points that, he said, were inimical to the nation’s security. The security agencies had been instructed to monitor them and deal with them, he said.

IBB’s spokesman, Afegbua, described the action of the security men as “political desperation, intimidation and intolerance”.

According to him, “I can assure you that we have travelled this road before; so, it is not something new. As a former military president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, General IBB cannot be intimidated because he has his rights under the constitution to own an opinion and to endorse whoever he feels will secure the nation.”

For his part, Garba, the media consultant to Abubakar, said : “It will not surprise anyone if that is the case; it is only a confirmation of our fear.”

He said that the action of the security agents was expected; given the tension the elections are generating.

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