Nigerian vice president’s aide jailed

ABUJA – A spokesman for Nigeria’s vice president was jailed on Tuesday after being charged with disclosing classified information in a media war with President Olusegun Obasanjo.

The imprisonment is the latest twist in a high stakes power tussle between Obasanjo and his estranged deputy Atiku Abubakar ahead of what should be a landmark elections in Africa’s top oil exporter next year. Obasanjo must step down next May after two terms in office, but appears determined to stop Abubakar from taking over.The origins of the feud between the pair go back years.It intensified after Abubakar helped in May to defeat an attempt to rewrite the constitution to allow Obasanjo run for a third term.Abubakar’s spokesman Garba Shehu, who faces up to 14 years in jail if convicted, pleaded not guilty to the charges at a Federal High Court in Abuja.Judge Binta Murtala Nyako said “the accused should be remanded in prison custody pending the date of the hearing” of a bail application on Thursday.Shehu, author of a series of vitriolic press statements against Obasanjo, was detained last month for two days by the secret police over an unspecified security threat.Obasanjo and Abubakar have been trading accusations of corruption.Nampa-ReutersObasanjo must step down next May after two terms in office, but appears determined to stop Abubakar from taking over.The origins of the feud between the pair go back years.It intensified after Abubakar helped in May to defeat an attempt to rewrite the constitution to allow Obasanjo run for a third term.Abubakar’s spokesman Garba Shehu, who faces up to 14 years in jail if convicted, pleaded not guilty to the charges at a Federal High Court in Abuja.Judge Binta Murtala Nyako said “the accused should be remanded in prison custody pending the date of the hearing” of a bail application on Thursday.Shehu, author of a series of vitriolic press statements against Obasanjo, was detained last month for two days by the secret police over an unspecified security threat.Obasanjo and Abubakar have been trading accusations of corruption.Nampa-Reuters