A
close aide of President Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokiri, was implicated
yesterday in a press release accusing suspended Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN) Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi of sponsoring Boko Haram.
Omokri,
the Special Assistant to the President on New Media, is believed to
have used a pseudonym, Wendell Simlin, to circulate an article to select
media companies linking the recent rise in Boko Haram attacks in Yobe
and Borno to Sanusi’s suspension, but the digital footprint of the
article was traced to his computer.
"Given
the quantum of funds that were appropriated by the Sanusi-led CBN on
non-banking related activities and donations, and the strong desire that
he and Alhaji Umaru Abdul Mutallab have for proselytizing Islam as well
as their circumstantial links to terror (Sanusi via Gideon Akaluka and
Mutallab via his son,) it is not such a leap for them to facilitate the
activities of terrorists," the article stated.
The write-up was sent to bloggers and journalists on Wednesday from the email address,
wendellsimlin@yahoo.com, but an analysis of the document's metadata revealed that Omokri was the author.
Social media erupted in anger over the slander with many calling for Omokri’s dismissal.
"If
it is true that this guy tried to capitalize on this tragedy by forging
documents to implicate somebody else, pressure should be placed on the
presidency to fire him," said Pius Adesanmi, a professor of English and
respected social critic on his Facebook page.
"Some of us who know him know he establishes spurious online accounts to malign opposition," said journalist Tolu Ogunlesi.
The presidency has so far remained silent about the allegations.
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