Former presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, has debunked claims by ex-President Goodluck Jonathan that Boko Haram once nominated former President Muhammadu Buhari to mediate between the group and the Federal Government.
In a strongly worded statement on Friday, Shehu described Jonathan’s remark as “false, misleading and politically motivated,” suggesting it may be part of the former leader’s strategy ahead of a possible 2027 presidential ambition.
According to Shehu, at no time did the late leaders of Boko Haram, Muhammed Yusuf or Abubakar Shekau, nominate Buhari for any negotiation role. Instead, he recalled that Shekau consistently denounced Buhari and even attempted to assassinate him in 2014 during a bomb attack in Kaduna.
“Contrary to the news making the rounds in those years, General Buhari denied knowledge of any such nomination. In fact, his campaigns were rooted in defeating Boko Haram and restoring peace to Nigeria
He cited a 2012 statement by the then National Secretary of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Engr. Buba Galadima, who disclosed that Buhari had never been contacted by anyone about such a role. “He (Buhari) said the whole thing to him was just speculation. And since nobody contacted him, he would not speak to the press,” Galadima said at the time.
Shehu explained that the confusion arose when a faction of Boko Haram, led by one Abu Mohammed Ibn Abdulaziz, held a press conference in Maiduguri claiming Buhari and some northern leaders were chosen as mediators. However, the group’s main leadership under Shekau quickly disowned Abdulaziz, declaring that he had no mandate to speak for them.
Shehu stressed that Buhari remained “a quintessential patriot who consistently stood against terrorism and insecurity,” adding that Jonathan should “find a better story to tell Nigerians if he intends to contest the 2027 elections.”
He concluded by recalling Jonathan’s own admission during his presidency that Boko Haram had infiltrated his government, a revelation later echoed by his then National Security Adviser, General Andrew Azazi.
It would be recalled that the former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan said on Friday at the Public presentation of SCARS: Nigeria’s Journey and The Boko Haram Conundrum, a book authored by former Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor that “Boko Haram insurgents once nominated former President Muhammadu Buhari to represent them in negotiations with federal government when his administration explored dialogue as a non-combatant approach to ending the group’s activities”
