President Goodluck Jonathan over the weekend spoke of how he twice escaped being assassinated during the time when his estranged political godfather, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, held sway as Nigeria’s president.

Both incidents took place in 2007, according to Jonathan in his reply to Obasanjo’s hard-hitting 18-page open letter of December 2, 2013.

The President said in his reply dated December 20th 2013 and entitled “RE: BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE”: “An armed group invaded Yenagoa one evening with the intent to assassinate me. Luckily for me, they could not. They again attacked and bombed my country home on a night when I was expected in the village. Fortunately, as God would have it, I did not make the trip.”

Jonathan accused the Obasanjo regime of doing nothing to unravel the attempts on his life despite pretending to be worried about the incidents.

Hear him: “I recall that immediately after both incidents, I got calls expressing the concern of Abuja. But Baba, you know that despite the apparent concern of Abuja, no single arrest was ever made. I was then the Governor of Bayelsa State and the PDP Vice-Presidential candidate. The security people ordinarily should have unraveled the assassination attempt on me.”

Jonathan in his letter also took Obasanjo to task for invading Odi community in his (Jonathan’s) home state of Bayelsa in the name of fighting militancy. His words: “More uncharitable persons may even see a touch of sanctimoniousness in your new belief in the carrot and stick approach to overcoming militancy and insurgency. You have always referred to how you hit Odi in Bayelsa State to curb militancy in the Niger Delta. If the invasion of Odi by the Army was the stick, I did not see the corresponding carrot. I was the Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State then, and as I have always told you, the invasion of Odi did not solve any militancy problem but, to some extent, escalated it. If it had solved it, late President Yar’Adua would not have had to come up with the amnesty program. And while some elements of the problem may still be there, in general, the situation is reasonably better.”

Jonathan accused Obasanjo of writing the open letter with an ulterior motive, saying: “Let me state that you have done me grave injustice with your public letter in which you wrongfully accused me of deceit, deception, dishonesty, incompetence, clannishness, divisiveness and insincerity, amongst other ills.”

•Photo shows President Jonathan.

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