Nigeria vice-president, Atiku suspended

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Nigeria's ruling party has suspended the vice-president from its ranks for three months over corruption reports.
Atiku Abubakar denied the claims, saying they were politically motivated.

He hopes to contest next year's general election and backed a campaign to prevent President Olusegun Obasanjo from seeking a third term.

Mr Abubakar will remain vice-president but his suspension means he will not be eligible to seek the ruling PDP's presidential nomination.

He condemned the decision of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) as an "evil plot" to keep him out of the 2007 race.

"By the grace of God, this sinister plot will fail," he said in a statement.

The suspension is the latest blow to Mr Abubakar's presidential ambitions, the BBC's Alex Last reports from Lagos.

He is already feuding with the president over corruption allegations which could bar him from contesting next year's elections, our correspondent notes.

The PDP is the largest party in Nigeria, has the most money and, more importantly, is in power, so it is viewed as the best place to be if running for office, says our correspondent.

[Richard Akindele]

A Nigerian State Security Service (SSS) operative attached to Vice-President Atiku Abubakar was shot dead on the outskirts of Abuja, Saturday by policeman, according to the VP`s Campaign Organisation.

A statement by the Organisation however, said there was no immediate reason to link the killing of Victor Okonkwo with the current face-off between Abubakar and President Olusegun Obasanjo.

The Organisation gave three versions of the incident which led to the shooting.

One version said Okonkwo, who drove an "operational vehicle" to a school on the outskirts of the capital city, where he was studying part-time, was shot dead when he failed to heed the warning by a highway patrol team to stop.

Another version said the late SSS official had followed the arresting party to the Police Station at Keffi, but resisted an attempt to force him into a cell despite showing his service ID card, leading to a scuffle in which he was shot dead.

The third version was that in the course of his encounter with the police, Okonkwo brought out both his ID card and his service pistol, and a policeman reacted by firing at him.

The burly operative in his 20s was said to have served the VP for the past five years.

"Opinion around the Vice President (on Saturday) was that this may have been an unfortunate incident that may have caught just anyone," the statement said.

Angola Press