The President Muhammadu Buhari-led government had vowed that no amount of intimidation would stop it from exposing alleged looters of the national treasury.

The government disclosed that since the release of the first two lists of the alleged looters, there had been overt and covert attempts to intimidate and blackmail the Federal Government.

In a statement by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed in Lagos on Sunday, the Federal Government said the blackmailers were intimidating it into discontinuing the release of more looters’ names.

The Nigerian Government had already released two lists comprising mostly, members of the main opposition, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

The statement reads, ”Hack writers have inundated the social and traditional media with articles casting aspersion on the lists, while some newspapers have even resorted to writing editorials against the Federal Government over the release of the lists.

“Most of the write-ups have accused the government of politicising the anti-graft war by releasing the lists. We strongly disagree with them.

”We do not have the power to try or convict anyone. That is the exclusive preserve of the courts. But we have the power to let Nigerians know those who turned the public treasury into their personal piggy banks, on the basis of very concrete evidence, and that is what we are doing.

”All the fuss about politicising the anti-corruption fight is aimed at preventing the government from releasing more looters’ names and at the same time muddling the waters.

“But 1,000 negative write-ups or editorials will not deter us from releasing the third and subsequent lists. For those who have chosen to give succour to looters, we wish them the best of luck with their new pastime.

“We know where the pressure is coming from. However, the die is cast. We will not stop until we have released the names of all those who have looted our commonwealth. Those who have not looted our treasury have nothing to be afraid of.

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