The Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide has vowed to shut down Nigeria’s economy if any evil happens to Goodluck Jonathan, a former president.
The threat is in response to a fatal accident involving the former president’s convoy on Wednesday, in which two of his police orderlies died.
Jonathan had explained In a statement, Jonathan that 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.
“It is obvious that some people are after the former President. They want him dead. And we believe it is not unconnected with the constant appearance of his name in the forthcoming 2023 election.”
“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”.