Former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Lucky Irabor (rtd.), has alleged that some prominent Nigerian politicians have been fingered as major financiers of terrorism.
He also wondered why the government decided to keep their identities secret while trials of such indicted individuals conducted while he was in office.
The former Army Chief who made the stunning revelation during an interview session on Channels Television on Monday evening, accused the government of refusing to reveal the names of the alleged terror financiers, especially those in politics, because they do not want to lose elections in the regions the indicted individuals come from.
“There were some trials that were made, especially for the financiers. But the government has kept these and their names secret,” he said.
He noted that despite repeated promises including from the Buhari and Tinubu administrations and a compilation of a list by security agencies, no official list has ever been published, and no high-profile politician has been publicly charged for funding Boko Haram, bandits, or other armed groups.
Irabor acknowledged that some suspects were indeed tried, but the processes were deliberately kept away from Nigerians.
Speaking in the raging debate on Christian genocide and attacks on Christian communities especially in the Middle Belt region, Irabor stressed that Nigeria’s security crisis is a multi-layered monster involving ideological terrorists, religious extremists, politically motivated actors, and criminal gangs seeking territorial control.
“Just as you have terrorists with an ideology, you also have those bent on targeting Christians. There are also those targeting communities to displace them for leverage,’ he said.
“And then you have economic criminals. They all operate for different reasons. Lumping it together under one theory is wrong.”
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He added that while some Nigerians try to frame every attack as political, others blame it solely on religious extremism, but both views ignore the complexity of the conflict.
“Some politicians have taken advantage of poor governance and insecurity to gain leverage, to create impressions they can do better, or even instigate crises.
“But that doesn’t mean everything is political, or that all politicians are involved,” the retired General said.
Isaac Dashen