My sons' arrest was political witch hunt, Says Lamido

Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State has said that the arrest of his two children by the EFCC was political vendetta which cannot change his conviction because he had been exposed to such in his political life spanning over three decades.

He accused President Goodluck Jonathan and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of blackmailing him because of their political differences.

The Governor, who spoke when he received the Emir of Gumel, Alhaji Ahmed Muhammed in the Government House Friday, said intimidation and threat can no longer make him to fret.

He said: 'Some politicians believe that they can use intimidation and threat to have their way. In the last 30 years, I have suffered all kinds of intimidation and harassment you can think of and so there is nothing new. All these harassments cannot break Sule Lamido. I am a human being and I can make mistakes but honestly speaking, in the last six years, I have tried my best for Jigawa State and even President Goodluck Jonathan testified to that severally when he visited Jigawa.

'I have tried to be just and fair in running the affairs of this state to the best of my ability. Jonanthan, Lamorde and the SSS cannot say they love Jigawa State more than me.'

The Governor noted that at his age, he cannot be intimidated or cowed. 'I have been following all the tricks employed by the government to blackmail me. First when Aminu was arrested in December last over alleged money laundering of $40,000, the Pilot newspaper owned by Jonathan wrote that Aminu was arrested with N3 million. Three weeks later, the same paper said Aminu confessed that he laundered N37 billion for me in the last six years. They did not stop there. Government agents went to the Sultan of Sokoto and told him that Aminu had N2 billion in his private account. All these were done to blackmail me because they know I am close to the Sultan.'