Several sources close to the ex-president, who confirmed to a national daily that Jonathan had sought refuge last week in the West African country, blamed the heightened attacks on oil and gas installations in the Niger Delta by Ijaw militants to what they claimed was “the decision by President Muhammadu Buhari to renege on his promise that his predecessor had ‘nothing to fear’ from him (Buhari) after he handed over the reins of power on May 29, 2015”. It would be recalled that immediately after his victory in the 2015 presidential election, Buhari had stated that he would not go after his predecessor, despite allegations that the former president had presided over widespread corruption during his five years in the saddle. However, since Jonathan’s departure, anti-corruption agencies led by the EFCC have gone after several of his associates on allegations of money laundering, diversion of public funds and contract scams, mostly linked to defence sector contracts and the purchase of arms used for the prosecution of the war against Boko Haram in the North-east. In recent weeks, the EFCC has in addition to arresting and prosecuting several public office holders who served under the Jonathan administration, arrested some of the closest allies of the former president including his cousin, Mr. Aziobola Robert, in connection to a $40 million pipeline surveillance contract, and his former principal secretary and confidant Mr. Hassan Tukur. These arrests were said to have shaken the former president, given that they were the two persons closest to him during his presidency. The former president was said to have been reliably warned by security sources and sympathetic officials in different arms of government of the plan to arrest him once he stepped into the country, hence his decision to seek exile in Cote d’Ivoire. Acting on the intelligence, Jonathan contacted a few West African leaders including the President of Cote d’Iviore, Mr. Alassane Outtara, who offered him a safe haven until the coast is clear for him to return to Nigeria. Sources close to the president told the newspaper that since the information of the government’s resolve to arrest Jonathan reached the Niger Delta, Ijaw militants have gone berserk and stepped up their attacks on oil and gas installations in the region and are believed to be hell bent on shutting down oil output completely. One source said the militants are targeting all onshore and shallow water installations, from where Nigeria derives the bulk of 90 per cent of its foreign exchange earnings and may head for the deep offshore oil fields if the federal government does not back down. “Perhaps the only installations that may not be affected in the interim by militant attacks are those in the deep offshore basin because they are more difficult to reach and would require large vessels to access,” said the source who, however, added that “during the last militant crises we went as far as shutting down the Bonga deep water oil field”.]]>