GEJ orders probe into political hit list charge

Nigerias President Goodluck Jonathan

According to AFP, President Goodluck Jonathan said Monday he had ordered a probe into a rash of allegations, including the creation of a political hit squad, levelled against him by former leader Olusegun Obasanjo.

Obasanjo, penned an open letter to Jonathan on December 2 that accused him of training a private militia to assassinate political rivals.

A founding member of Jonathan's Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Obasanjo also accused the president of gross incompetence and urged him not to seek reelection in 2015.

Obasanjo's letter has dominated headlines in Africa's most populous country this month and Jonathan said he was compelled to publicly reply because the missive posed "a threat to national security."

"Perhaps the most invidious accusation in your letter is the allegation that I have placed over one thousand Nigerians on a political watch list, and that I am training snipers and other militia to assassinate people," Jonathan said in the reply.

Jonathan dismissed the charge as "baseless" and "incomprehensible" and demanded Obasanjo offer proof.